Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Wed, May 27 1992 Date: Wed, 27 May 92 05:20:54 EDT Message-ID: 05-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update May 27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network OIL HITS SIX-MONTH HIGH: Oil prices jumped to a six-month high Tuesday on Saudi Arabia's apparent support for higher oil prices. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for July delivery shot up $1.06 Tuesday to $22 a barrel, highest price since Nov. 20. The surge in oil prices sent stocks tumbling as traders worried the jump could fuel inflation. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.56 points to 3364.21. (For more, see special Oil package below.) BUSH LOOKING OUT FOR SUCCESSORS: A top aide Tuesday defended President Bush's refusal to commit the United States to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Michael Deland, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, told the USA TODAY editorial board that Bush "was unwilling to bind the hands of his successor" without firm scientific information to commit the USA to cap greenhouse gas emissions by 2000. ENERGY TAXES SEEN AS UNLIKELY: Tougher measures that may be needed to lower U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases - such as stiff gasoline or energy taxes - won't be easy, Michael Deland, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, said Tuesday. To be effective, such taxes would have to top 50 cents a gallon, he said. "I just don't think there's the political stomach on the left or the right for that," he said. OIL STOCKS CLIMB: Oil stocks soared Tuesday on rising oil prices and analysts' recommendations. Analyst Paul Ting likes Atlantic Richfield, which rose 6 1:8 to $117 3:4, and French giant Elf Aquitaine, which added 1:8 to $37. British Petroleum added 2 5:8 to $60 5:8; Exxon rose 3 1:2 to $64; Texaco jumped 3 to $66 3:4; and Mobil gained 3 5:8 to $67. Oil-service company Halliburton gained 5:8 to $29 7:8. PENNZOIL ORDERED TO PULL ADS: Federal District Judge Alfred M. Wolin of Newark, N.J., Tuesday ordered Pennzoil Company and Pennzoil Products Company to halt an ad campaign claiming Pennzoil "outperforms any leading motor oil against viscosity breakdown." In a suit brought by Castrol Inc., Wolin ordered Pennzoil to stop broadcasting after May 29 a series of five television advertisements. PUGET POWER UPDATES STRATEGY: Puget Power Tuesday unveiled its 20-year strategy for meeting growing electricity demand. The company's 1992-93 least-cost Integrated Resource Plan, which is updated every two years, gives preference to renewable resources, such as hydro, wind and geothermal, because of their low environmental effects, said Corey Knutsen, vice president, corporate planning. HOPE CREEK BEING SHUT DOWN: Technicians began shutting down the Hope Creek nuclear plant in Lower Alloways Creek Township, N.J., after routine tests detected malfunctioning valves in the containment building. The plant will remain down for at least four days while repairs are made to the valves, which failed to maintain pressure, say officials of the Public Service Electric & Gas Co., which operates the plant. PANEL WANTS OK FOR DUMPS: Maine's Low-Level Radioactive Waste Authority asked for a state attorney general ruling on whether the panel must honor town ordinances that ban low-level waste dumps. Four of 10 prospective sites for such a dump are within municipalities that ban the disposal of radioactive wastes. SPILL BIGGER THAN ESTIMATED: A fuel-oil spill by a barge in the Mississippi River near New Orleans totaled 6,900 gallons - three times the first estimate, officials said Tuesday. Most of the spill was contained by booms Monday. Drinking-water supplies were not affected. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON OIL: NATURAL GAS UP SHARPLY: Refined petroleum products closed up Tuesday at the Mercantile Exchange. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in June settled at 66.27 cents a gallon, up 2.33 cents. Home heating oil for delivery in June settled at 59.63 cents a gallon, up 3.34 cents. Natural gas prices were sharply higher Tuesday, with contracts for delivery in July settling at $1.630 per 1,000 cubic feet, up 8.5 cents. SAUDIS SUPPORT NEW, LOW CEILING: Oil traders blamed Tuesday's jump in oil prices on Saudi Arabia's apparent support of higher prices, something the most powerful member of the 13-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has been against in recent years. Last week, the Saudis agreed to a new, relatively low OPEC production ceiling, signaling that they are ready to see oil prices rise. TAX MAY HAVE LED TO SHIFT: The shift by Saudi Arabia apparently was triggered by talk of a stiff carbon tax on gasoline by European Community nations, which are looking for ways to curb pollution by discouraging consumption. The Saudis are "telling the Europeans, `If you think prices are so low you can tax oil ... we'll raise prices for you' " and keep the difference, says Vahan Zanoyan of Petroleum Finance. GASOLINE MAY RISE 2 CENTS: If oil prices stay around $22 a barrel, gasoline prices should rise about 2 cents a gallon at the pump within a month, says Tom Kloza, editor at Oil Price Information Service. But Kloza says the Saudis likely will push prices back down once they've made their point to the EC nations. (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