Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy,americast.usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Fri, Sep 25 1992 Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 04:37:05 EDT Message-ID: 09-25 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update Sept. 25-27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NATURAL GAS FINALLY DROPS: Natural gas prices were lower Thursday for the first time in a week as word moved through the market that several utilities were planning to switch from gas to oil for generating electricity. Natural gas had risen more than 50 cents per 1,000 cubic feet in the past week before dropping 12.9 cents on Thursday to settle at $2.464 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. CRUDE, REFINED PRODUCTS DOWN: Light sweet crude oil for delivery in November settled at $21.79 per barrel, down 21 cents, at the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday. Refined products were also lower. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in October settled 0.21 cent lower at 58.87 cents a gallon. Home heating oil for delivery in October settled at 63.26 cents a gallon, down 0.70 cent. COMMONWEALTH ED, DOE TEAM UP: Commonwealth Research said Thursday it is teaming with the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory to develop a computer system to help run nuclear power plants. Commonwealth Research is a unit of Commonwealth Edison. The project will begin Oct. 1. Tested software should be ready to be installed within three years, according to Edison spokesman Gary Wald. FIRST STEP FOR COOLING SYSTEM: Commonwealth Edison said Thursday that the first application for software it is developing to help run nuclear power plants will be for a reactor cooling system. Edison's unit Commonwealth Research is working with the Department of Energy on the project. Edison spokesman Gary Wald said Thursday that the results of the project should be valuable to other companies. ALBERTA OIL PRODUCTION TO DROP: A new industry report out Thursday finds that Alberta's conventional oil production is expected to drop to 52 million barrels in 2011 from an estimated 312 million barrels this year. The report from the Canadian Energy Research Institute in Calgary says in 20 years it may cost too much to drill for conventional oil. Synthetic crude is made from Alberta's abundant oil sands. DRILLING MAY COST TOO MUCH: An industry report from the Canadian Energy Institute in Calgary, Alberta, finds that in 20 years it may be too expensive to drill in Alberta for conventional oil. The report, out Thursday, said that conventional crude reserves are declining by an average 2% per year. The reserves that have been found are getting increasingly smaller, said the Institute's Michelle Heath. FOREST OIL BEGINS PRODUCTION: Forest Oil Corp. Thursday said it has begun production from a new platform on Eugene Island Block 255, offshore Louisiana. The platform is producing in excess of 2,500 barrels of oil per day and 1.2 million cubic feet of gas per day with minimal drawdown from two completions in the one and three wells. Euguene Island recently was purchased in an acquisiont with Transco Corp. MESA ANNOUNCES OCTOBER PRICES: MESA Inc. Thursday announced that its natural gas prices will average about $2.25 per thousand cubic feet during October. This average price is after deducting transportation charges and reflects MESA's mix of gas sold at spot prices as well as at fixed-price and under term arrangements. OIL LOBBY GROUPS TO MERGE: Canada's two largest oil industry lobby groups have voted to merge, it was announced Thursday. The Canadian Petroleum Association and the Independent Petroleum Association of Canada will merge Oct. 1 to become the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. It will speak for nearly 200 companies active in oil and natural gas in Canada. HALLIBURTON NAMES NEW PRESIDENT: Halliburton Company Thursday announced that Halliburton Geophysical Services named George Steel president of the firm effective immediately. President George Tilley has retired. It provides geophysical services and systems for the petroleum industry. Halliburton is one of the world's largest energy services. PIONEER INCREASES HOLDINGS: Canadian Pioneer Energy Inc. Thursday provided details of the important increases to its land holdings at Panny, Alberta, which took place after the end of last winter's drilling season. The company has added 50,400 gross acres. Its land portfolio now totals 92,895 gross acres in the Panny area. Plans for extensive winter drilling are under way. SHELL CANADA OPENS PLANT: Shell Canada Products Ltd. Thursday opened its world scale lubricants blending and packaging plant in Brockville, Ontario. The plant replaces two older plants in Toronto and Montreal and employs 75 people. It is designed to produce more than 150 million liters of lubricants per year for customers in Canada and other countries. EUROPE LOOKS TO USA FOR GASOIL: Brokers in London said Thursday that European gasoil traders are pinning their hopes on the United States to dispose of their surplus. Strong demand from Germany hasn't materialized yet, and buyers have missed the opportunity to capitalize on a weak dollar. Colder weather in the Northeast Wednesday encouraged strong buying interest for heating oil futures. Energy Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution purposes violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. 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