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 Thu, Jun 18 1992 Date: Thu, 18 Jun 92 05:09:16 EDT Message-ID: 06-18 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update June 18, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network OIL PRODUCTION DOWN: U.S. crude oil production sank in May to its lowest in more than 30 years, American Petroleum Association says. APA attributes the slump to a scheduled shutdown of Alaskan pumping facilities for maintenance. Production in the continental USA also was down from a year earlier. Total output was 7.1 million barrels a day in May, vs. 7.3 in May 1991. OIL PRICES LITTLE CHANGED: Crude oil prices rebounded from an early sell-off Wednesday to finish little changed. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in July, which fell as low as $22.05, settled at $22.29 a barrel, down 1 cent, on the Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices fell early in response to a report that showed U.S. supplies of oil and petroleum products rose last week. Analysts found no reason for the market's reversal. REFINED PRODUCTS GAIN: Refined petroleum products advanced Wednesday at the Mercantile Exchange. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in July settled at 65.59 cents a gallon, up .21 cent. Home heating oil for delivery in July settled at 60.99 cents a gallon, up .19 cent. Natural gas prices were mixed, with contracts for delivery in July settling at $1.605 per 1,000 cubic feet, up .2 cent. FED AID FOR MAGLEV ASKED: Federal officials will soon decide whether to move forward with a plan to develop and build an American-made magnetically levitated transportation system. Scientists, entrepreneurs and planners involved in maglev research say government support is critical. "Our team can't afford to sustain itself in the absence of funding," said Henry Kolm, president of Magnaplane International. (For more, see special Maglev package below.) USA, RUSSIA INK ENERGY DEAL: The USA and Russia Wednesday signed an agreement on scientific and technical cooperation in the field of fuels and energy. The Department of Energy will be the U.S. executive agent for deal signed by Energy Secretary James D. Watkins and Yegor Gaydar, acting prime minister for Russia. This agreement provides a framework for cooperation in the area of fuels and energy. MICROWAVE DRYER PASSES TEST: Southern California Edison, an electric utility, said a prototype of a microwave clothes dryer has passed government tests, bringing it one step closer to market. The utility said the microwave dryer uses 10% less energy than conventional electric dryers and 28% less energy than gas units. It was developed by American Micro-Tech. SENATE OKS CLEAN AIR RULES: Pennsylvanians could pay higher electric bills if pollution-control rules approved by the state Senate become law, officials say. To comply with the federal Clean Air Act, the Senate voted 49-0 to make businesses that emit 100 to 5,500 tons of pollution to pay $14 for every ton. Utilities will pass the cost to comply on to their customers, said an environmental expert for the Senate. ROCKY FLATS CITED: EG&G Rocky Flats Inc., operator of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, was cited for 56 violations of the Colorado's hazardous waste regulations, the state Health Department said Wednesday. EG&G officials said most of the violations were brought to the attention of inspectors through the plant's own reporting system and added that corrections have been made. NRC MONTORING RIVER BEND: Work at the River Bend nuclear power plant in St. Francisville, La., is being monitored by Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulators. Two workers have been injured in falls at the plant since May 17 and a third fainted from the heat Friday. The plant is shut down for refueling. The NRC hasn't taken action in the incidents. GUAM GETS SUPPORT IN WASHINGTON: Congress and the Bush administration appear ready to help Guam streamline its proposed new power generators on Cabras Island, Gov. Joseph Ada said after meeting with officials in Washington Wednesday. Ada and Guam Del. Ben Blaz received qualified support that time-consuming permit regulations might be shortened in light of Guam's power-generation crisis. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON MAGLEV: STATES, BUSINESSES MATCH FUNDS: Bedford, Mass.-based Magnaplane International is one of a number of industrial-academic-government consortiums researching the feasibility of an American-made maglev. Much of the funding comes from the government with matching state dollars and some private investment. A leading maglev player, Pittsburgh's Maglev Inc., has rallied public and private support for a 19-mile maglev test track. FED TO HAVE 3-STEP COMPETITION: "It's going to be impossible to build any high-speed ground transportation system without a high level of participation from the federal government," said John Kapala, Maglev Inc.'s executive vice president and chief executive. Kapala's group and others like it are expected to be in a three-step competition for federal grants to design and ultimately build a working maglev prototype. ADMINISTRATION BALKS AT SUPPORT: The competition for federal grants to design and build a maglev prototype may not get started. Although Congress authorized spending between $700 million and $800 million on an American maglev demonstration project, the Bush administration has balked at setting up a project office within the Transportation Department to coordinate the effort. STATES MAY OFFER RESCUE: Congress has not appropriated any funding this year for maglev research. Even if Congress does provide the money necessary to get the maglev demonstration project moving, the Bush administration could still block it. Despite the impasse, interest in maglev seems to be mounting. State such as California, Florida, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania are actively reviewing maglev as an option. (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