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 16 1992 Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 08:02:01 EDT Message-ID: 10-16 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update Oct. 16-18, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network OIL RISES 25 CENTS PER BARREL: Prices for oil and refined products rose moderately Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, reacting to supply figures and forecasts for a cold winter. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in November rose 25 cents per barrel to settle at $22.33 at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in November settled at 59.86 cents a gallon, up 0.76 cent. PREDICTION SENDS HEATING OIL UP: Heating oil rose Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the Energy Department reported that a cold winter would create the best demand for heating oil since the winter of 1979-1980, said analyst Thomas Blakeslee. Home heating oil for delivery in November settled at 65.49 cents a gallon, up 0.85 cent. November natural gas settled at $2.432 per 1,000 cubic feet, up 10.6 cents. WESTINGHOUSE IN TAIWANESE BID: Westinghouse Electric Corp. said Thursday it's joining with the British power generator Nuclear Electric to bid on a supply contract at a nuclear power plant in Taiwan. The companies said they expect final specifications in December for the two pressurized-water reactors. The country's utility, Taipower, has a budget of $6 billion for the entire project, Westnghouse said. OHIO BASE RATE FREEZE APPROVED: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Thursday approved Ohio Edison's program to freeze base electric rates until at least 1997 and provide $75 million for additional energy efficiency customer projects. Justin Rogers, chairman and chief executive of the company, said the utility hope to extend the rate freeze until 2000. The program includes accounting modifications. COMMONWEALTH IS RISKY BUSINESS: An international negotiator for Amoco Petroleum Co. said Thursday the Commonwealth of Independent States offers exciting opportunities for petroleum development. But those opportunities are matched by what Peter M. Kennel called significant political and economic risks. Kennel told the National Association of Petroleum Investment Analysts the area is pro-development. GAS COMPANY IN MASS. CAN EXPAND: Colonial Gas Co. of Lowell, Mass., said Thursday the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has approved its request to expand service into the town of Eastham, at the eastern end of Cape Cod. The town has about 5,000 homes and businesses that use fuels other than natural gas, according to company estimates. Colonial sells natural gas, propane and other cryogenic fuels. EKOTEK PLANT PUT ON EPA LIST: The Environmental Protection Agency has placed the polluted Ekotek oil processing plant on its national priorities list. The move makes the Salt Lake City plant available for federal cleanup funds. The site used to be an oil refinery. It was built in the 1940s and used for hazardous waste storage until it declared bankruptcy in 1987. CHEMICAL MIX INJURED EIGHT: The Washington Public Power Supply System says the "unusual event declaration" on the Hanford nuclear reservation in Honolulu Tuesday was because of the accidental mixing of two chemicals. An anti-algae chemical was mistakenly unloaded into a tank containing an anti-corrosion chemical. Eight workers were injured because of the fumes. GAS CHIEF APPLAUDS ENERGY BILL: American Gas Association President Michael Baly III has praised the joint Senate-House conference committee for approving the national energy strategy legislation. Baly said the bill is "an excellent foundation. A country this size needs a codified energy policy and this bill is something we can build on for the future." The bill can reduce oil imports, Baly said. BILL CONTAINS OPPORTUNITIES: American Gas Association President Michael Baly III says the natural gas bill passed in the Congress will provide the industry with significant opportunities. Baly has cited natural gas vehicles, gas research and development and high-efficiency electric generation as industry opportunities. He also praised the removal of moratoriums on outer continental shelf drilling. WEAK STOCKS BOOST PRICES: Brokers in London said Thursday that oil futures prices traded higher after reports from the American Petroleum Institute showed lower-than-expected stocks of crude and products. The report said U.S. crude inventories rose just 86,000 barrels to 324.9 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 9. Crude stocks are down 15.1 million barrels from a year ago. TRITON HAS EARNINGS BOOST: Triton Energy Corp. said Thursday the company posted first-quarter earnings of $900,000 compared with a loss of $9.3 million at the same time a year ago, boosted by $9.5 million from a stock sale. The oil and natural gas exploration and production company showed an operating loss of $4.4 million without the sale, according to industry analyst Monroe Helm of Morgan Stanley. 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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