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, Oct 9 1992 Date: Fri, 9 Oct 92 04:40:11 EDT Message-ID: 10-09 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update Oct. 9-11, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NATIONAL ENERGY STRATEGY PASSED: Congress pushed, pulled, shoved and shouted for nearly two years to produce a national energy strategy, then sent it to President Bush on Thursday with a quiet sigh. On its last day of work, the Senate passed the bill after beating back one last protest - an attempt by Nevada senators to scuttle the bill because of a provision concerning a nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain. (For more, see special Strategy package below.) OIL FUTURES RISE: Tight supplies of gasoline for near-term delivery helped lift oil futures Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. November light sweet crude rose 10 cents to $21.99 a barrel; heating oil rose .37 cent to 64.20 cents a gallon. November unleaded gasoline climbed .87 cent to 59.48 cents a gallon. November natural gas fell 9.2 cents to $2.298 per 1,000 cubic feet. REPORT BLASTS VALDEZ CLEANUP: One year after a $1 billion settlement for the Exxon Valdez oil spill, U.S. and Alaska officials have spent about $270 million - but "not one penny" to restore environmental damage, a new report charges. The report by five conservation groups says money went to administration, lawyers fees and "unnecessary" studies, plus a $50 million "kickback" to Exxon for 1992 cleanup efforts. REPORT IS A `BUM RAP': Alaska Attorney General Charles Cole said Thursday a report blasting state and federal spending efforts to clean up after the Exxon Valdez oil spill is a "bum rap." The $50 million payment to Exxon was part of the agreement because officials said Exxon was best suited to do the final cleanup. Hundreds of competing proposals were put forth by scientists, native villages and others. OPEC CRUDE MEETING CONTINUES: OPEC's five principal light crude exporters will continue talks Friday at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.'s London office, an NNPC spokesman said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is planning a European marketing strategy. The countries involved: Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Libya and Nigeria. Their output is nearly 25% of OPEC's total. CHEVRON TO LOSE 65,000 B:D: Chevron Corp. said Thursday it expects a leak in a cooling line at its Philadelphia refinery to keep about 65,000 barrels per day of gasoline from the U.S. market for four to seven days. The company halted production from its fluid catalytic cracker unit Wednesday. Fluid catalytic cracker units make gasoline from crude products. The disrupted output equals 1% of Chevron's U.S. output. DELMARVA TO HARNESS THE SUN: Delmarva Power said Thursday it will begin an experiment with solar electricity next year. CEO Howard Cosgrove said the company will install an experimental photovoltaic system capable of producing 15 kilowatts of electricity. That's enough for two average residential customers in a one-month period. Photovoltaics is direct conversion of solar energy into electricity. HALF INTEREST IN PROJECT SOLD: Air Products and Chemicals Inc. Thursday announced the sale of a half interest in a 120-megawatt cogeneration project being constructed in Orange County, Fla. The half share was sold to wholly owned subsidiaries of UtilCo Group Inc. and will result in a $6.5 million after-tax gain. The cogeneration facility is due to be completed in the fall of 1993 and will be fired by natural gas. MATRIX GETS STORAGE TANK DEAL: Matrix Service Co. Thursday said it received a $7.1 million contract to upgrade storage tanks for a refinery on the Gulf of Mexico. It did not identify the refinery. Matrix is a provider of storage tanks to the oil industry. The company plans to begin work immediately and complete the project by July. QUANTUM SUES OVER PLANT: Quantum Chemical Corp. Thursday filed suit against the M.W. Kellogg Co. for false claims about furnace technology it designed for a Quantum ethylene plant near Houston. Quantum claims the $500 million plant has not met the production specifications promised by Kellogg and has requested more than $600 million from the engineering and construction firm. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON STRATEGY: STRATEGY SHAPED IN WAR'S SHADOW: The energy strategy bill passed Thursday represents the end of a struggle dating to January 1991, when the country was fighting in the Persian Gulf to keep oil supplies flowing. The war and the threat to the energy supply faded by the end of that year, making passage of the strategy less compelling to the public and more difficult for Congress. CONSUMPTION TO DROP BY 6%: After compromises were made, provisions dropped and restrictions eased, the first major energy policy revision since 1978 will reduce total consumption 6% by 2010, according to Energy Department estimates. That would equal the amount of energy saved by eliminating half of all gasoline now used in the USA, says the department. INCREASED EFFICIENCY A CHANGE: Results of some mandates might show up in products available within a year, although most of the strategy's impact will be spread over 20 years. Lights, motors, utility transformers and commercial heating and cooling equipment will be designed to use less electricity. Showerheads, faucets and toilets will use less water. (End of package.) 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. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM