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 Thu, Apr 23 1992 Date: Thu, 23 Apr 92 05:38:05 EDT Message-ID: 04-23 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update April 23, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network PRICES FALL ON INDUSTRY REPORT: Crude oil futures prices fell Wednesday on a report that showed a larger-than-expected supply of oil and refined products on hand in the USA. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in June settled at $20.11 a barrel, down 33 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday in its weekly report on petroleum stocks that crude rose 2.58%. NATURAL GAS PRICES ADVANCE: Refined petroleum products prices lost ground Wednesday at the Mercantile Exchange. Home heating oil for delivery in May fell 1.58 cent to settle at 55.78 cents a gallon. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in May settled at 61.65 cents a gallon, down .83 cent. Natural gas prices were higher, with contracts for delivery in May settling at $1.571 per 1,000 cubic feet, up 10.3 cents. MOBIL POSTS EARNINGS DECLINE: Mobil, the USA's second-largest oil company, says the recession and falling fuel prices pushed first-quarter earnings down 82%. Net income dropped to $127 million, or 28 cents a share, including $105 million in restructuring and other charges, from $710 million, or $1.73 a share, a year earlier. Mobil Chairman Allen Murray says slow economic growth around the world hurt business. ARCO, FOUR STATES SETTLE CLAIMS: ARCO said Wednesday it has agreed to pay $25 million to Arizona, California, Washington and Oregon to settle all remaining claims related to pending anti-trust cases in federal court. The states claimed that petroleum shortages in 1972-73 resulted from an unlawful conspiracy among ARCO and seven other oil companies - Chevron, Texaco, Unocal, Exxon, Mobil, Shell and Gulf. TALKS OVER TROJAN UNDERWAY: Portland General Electric Co. is negotiating to give Westinghouse Electric Corp. responsibility for running the Trojan nuclear plant in Rainier, Ore. PGE would remain the plant's chief owner. The deal would require Westinghouse to pay part of the replacement cost for new generators. Twenty-four electric utilities have sued Westinghouse, claiming the generators had serious flaws. ASTROPOWER TO GET $5M FROM DOE: AstroPower Inc., a top maker of solar energy products, will receive $5 million from the Department of Energy to develop a low-cost, high-volume manufacturing process for its sunlight-to-electricity products. AstroPower president Allen M. Barnett says the cost-shared project also will enable the firm to establish a manufacturing process for newly developed, large-size solar cells. PALO VERDE UNITS TOPS IN USA: Arizona Public Service Co.'s two Palo Verde units led the nation in electrical generation during February 1992, with Unit 2 the nation's top producer and Unit 3 ranked second, the utility said Wednesday. Cleveland Electric Illuminating was the USA's third-ranked nuclear power station in February, followed by Union Electric's Callaway and Duke Power's Catawba-1. CANDIDATES DON'T AGREE: President Bush and Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, the leading presidential candidates, are on opposite sides of environmental issues as they relate to energy. Republican Bush is a nuclear power advocate, while Democrat Clinton opposes it. Clinton advocates conservation and greater use of renewable energy sources, while Bush wants to explore the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. GAS RIG EXPLODES: A gas rig operated by Louisiana Land and Exploration Co. exploded west of Lysite, Wyo., Wednesday, sending mud and flames 100 feet into the air. Boots & Coots Inc., a company that specializes in fighting oil well fires, was called to battle the blaze. No one was seriously injured. DEAL STRUCK WITH CONSORTIUM: Livingston (Mont.) Rebuild Center will add 20 workers to its 88-member staff as the result of a 30-year contract reached with an international consortium, officials say. Production of six diesel-electric locomotives per year for five years under a contract with Argentina will start in mid-May. SRP PICKS STONE & WEBSTER: Salt River Project Wednesday named Stone & Webster as the Architect:Engineer for a $430 million emission control system at the Navajo Generating Station. S&W will work with SRP to design and engineer a system to meet all of the terms of last September's NGS Visibility Agreement. Smog caused by Navajo's sulfur dioxide emissions is blamed for hindering visibility at the Grand Canyon. FUEL COST FALLING: Fuel continues to drop as a percent of a driver's total cost of owning and operating a vehicle, according to a recent analysis by management consulting firm Runzheimer International. The annual cost of gasoline fell to a new low, 16.5% of total costs, for a 1992 intermediate-size car. That compares to 17.4% last year and 34.7% in 1976, the first year of the study. 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