Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Tue, Apr 21 1992 Date: Tue, 21 Apr 92 05:41:43 EDT Message-ID: 04-21 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update April 21, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network AUTOMAKERS AIMING AT STANDARDS: U.S. automakers have begun a new rush to greenness, scrambling to meet rigid pending anti-pollution standards in California, which accounts for 10% of the U.S. car market. In California, 10% of the 1994 models a maker sells must meet pollution standards twice as strict as U.S. regulations. In the 1998 model year, 2% of a car company's California sales must generate no engine pollution. (For more, see special Greenness package below.) OIL PRICES INCREASE: Crude oil futures advanced slightly Monday in quiet dealings at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in May settled at $20.24 per barrel, up 3 cents. Lower-grade sour crude for delivery in May settled at $17.84 per barrel, up 3 cents. Traders said the market was extremely quiet with London's International Petroleum Exchange closed for Easter Monday. NATURAL GAS PRICES RISE: Refined petroleum products posted small gains Monday at the Mercantile Exchange. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in May settled at 61.78 cents a gallon, up .63 cent. Home heating oil for delivery in May rose .22 cent to settle at 56.67 cents a gallon. Natural gas prices were higher, with contracts for delivery in May settling at $1.417 per 1,000 cubic feet, up 5.6 cents. GAS PRICES QUADRUPLED IN RUSSIA: It will cost the average Russian four times more to fill the tank after Moscow authorities unexpectedly raised gasoline prices Monday. Prices for everything from clothing to cabbage have skyrocketed in Russia since January, when President Boris Yeltsin lifted government price controls on most goods and services. Gas prices had already tripled before Monday. ELECTRIC VEHICLE RACE SET: To give electric cars a boost, a consortium of government and electric-utility agencies is sponsoring a race for electric-powered stockcars April 24-26 in Phoenix. Chrysler's TEVan, a battery-powered minivan the automaker plans to begin selling in California this fall, will serve as pace car. LAWSUIT SETTLED: Santa Fe Energy Resources and Adobe Resources Corp. announced Monday that they have entered into an agreement to settle a lawsuit brought by two holders of the preferred shares of Adobe Resources relating to the proposed merger of the firms. As part of the settlement, Santa Fe Energy and Adobe have agreed to resolicit their shareholders over the merger agreement. STATE CRACKING DOWN ON OCTANE: Two gas pumps at two service stations in Indiana have been shut down under a state program to ensure that gas labeled high-octane is just that. Indiana will test 500 random samples of 3,900 fuel retailers this year to ensure the public gets what it pays for, an official said. The pumps at stations in Anderson and Kocelene have since resumed operation after correcting their octane levels. GAS TAX HIKE CONSIDERED: New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a 6-cent increase in the state's gasoline tax - which would be the third hike in three years. A 3-cent tax would go into effect immediately, the remaining 3 cents would kick in Jan. 1. The tax is expected to raise $33 million for road and bridge work. Motor transport groups say they're taxed enough. WESTINGHOUSE SELLS DIVISION: Westinghouse Electric Corp., which has been shedding assets to raise badly needed cash, agreed Monday to sell its Copper Laminates Division for $105 million to Norplex Oak Inc., a unit of Allied Signal Inc. The division employs about 650 people at offices and plants in Sylmar, Calif., plants in Pendleton, S.C., and warehouses in Great Britain and France. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON GREENNESS: BATTERY POWER IS THE ONLY WAY: By the 2003 model year, 10% of a car maker's sales must generate no engine pollution. Automakers believe that battery power is the only way to meet that standard. Automakers also think they win points with the ecology-minded, even if the "green" models they show are years away. To jump on the bandwagon, Chrysler has begun selling a van that runs on clean-burning compressed natural gas. CHRYSLER HAS PLANS FOR MORE: In July, Chrysler will begin selling flexible-fuel versions of its Dodge Spirit and Plymouth Acclaim compacts. Those can run on a gasoline mixture that includes up to 85% methanol. Methanol, a type of alcohol, burns cleaner than gasoline but provides less power and lower fuel economy. Chrysler plans to add a flex-fuel version of the soon-to-be-introduced LH family sedans in 1994. CHEVY GETS ORDERS FOR 1,200: Chevrolet began producing flex-fuel Lumina midsize sedans last week. It had planned to build as many as 4,000 for California customers but received only 1,200 orders. The special Luminas cost about $2,000 more than conventional models. Chevy says those are the first flex-fuel cars offered by any maker in the USA. Chevy also began building CNG-powered pickups this month. FORD MODEL GOING ON SALE IN MAY: Ford trumpeted a low-pollution version of the conventional gasoline-powered Escort small car. It meets California standards for 1997 models and will go on sale there May 21. Nissan showed an experimental battery-powered sports coupe at the Detroit auto show in January. It can be recharged in just 15 minutes, but only using a high-voltage circuit not found in homes. (End of package.) Energy Editor: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution 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