![](media/image1.jpeg){width="8.75in" height="3.6055555555555556in"}U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

###### April 29, 2004

**Highlights / Major Developments**

**Pipeline Ruptures, Spills Diesel Into Bay Near San Francisco**\
Reports this afternoon indicate that a pipeline has ruptured and has
spilled as many as 1 million gallons of diesel into the Suisun Bay in
Northern California. The pipeline rupture occurred about 25 miles east
of San Francisco on Kinder Morgan\'s Zero Line, sources tell OPIS and
feeds the Sacramento and Chico CA. and Reno, NV markets. Sources added
that those markets use EPA diesel primarily and tight supplies will most
likely get even tighter. If the\
pipeline is down for any extended period of time it could mean more
trouble to an already tight market. Sources say that Reno is running low
on diesel as well as gasoline.  The Environmental Protection Agency is
at the site along with the U.S. Coast Guard, which is leading the clean
up efforts, according to wire reports. The spill has been contained, the
Coast Guard said on Thursday. The break in the pipeline connecting the
California cities of Concord and Sacramento occurred on Tuesday night,
Coast Guard spokesman Glynn Smith said. He added that between 300 to 600
acres (121.4 to 242.8 hectares) of land had been affected near Suisan
Bay north of San Francisco. It was not clear why the public was
immediately alerted to the environmental hazard.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040429/energy_kindermorgan_spill_1.html> OPIS
Price Watch Alert, 1629 April 29, 2004

**Electricity**

**Exelon Shuts Illinois Dresden 2 Nuke Again**\
Exelon Corp. manually shut its 800 megawatt Dresden 2 nuclear unit in
Illinois on Thursday, the company told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
in an event report. The company said it shut the unit due to a spurious
trip of reactor recirculation pump. The company said it was
trouble-shooting to determine the cause of the trip. The unit was
operating at 66 percent of capacity and was increasing power after a
work outage at the time of the trip. The prior outage started on about
April 24.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040429/utilities_exelon_dresden_2.html>

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####### Petroleum

#### Update -- Valero to Restart OK Ardmore Plant this Weekend

Valero Energy Corp. \<VLO.N\> said on Thursday it will this weekend
restart a downed gasoline-making fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCC) at
its 85,000 barrels per day refinery in Ardmore, Oklahoma. \"Repairs to
the steam generator in Ardmore are expected to be complete late this
weekend,\" said Mary Rose Brown, spokeswoman for Valero. \"They shut
down the FCC unit on Tuesday, so total downtime should be around five to
six days.\" The FCC unit has a capacity of about 25,000 bpd, and its
outage helped boost Midwestern Group Three gasoline values this week.
Reuters 1529 April 29, 2004

**U.S. Average Gasoline Price Sets New Record According to AAA Survey**

Today the national average price for regular gasoline set a new record
at \$1.81.2 according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

<http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/>

**Saudi February Oil Exports to US Lowest in 4 years \-- EIA**\
U.S. crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia in February declined to their
lowest level in four years, while oil shipments from Canada set a record
high for the month, the Energy Information Administration said on
Thursday.

Saudi Arabia, normally America\'s top monthly supplier of foreign crude,
came in third place in February with shipments of 1.295 million bpd.
That was down 137,000 bpd from the month before and the lowest since
February 2000, EIA said. The below-normal Saudi oil exports arrived in
February as U.S. crude inventories were low and gasoline prices were on
the rise to record highs, and appeared to counter later promises from
the Saudi oil minister that the kingdom would supply the American market
with plenty of crude.

<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040429/energy_oil_imports_2.html>

**Europe April Gasoline Flows to US Rise to 1.5 Million Tonnes**\
European gasoline suppliers have stepped up their exports to the U.S. in
late April in response to strong U.S. demand and record prices, traders
and shipping brokers said on Thursday. The flurry of activity has taken
April flows total 1.5 million tonnes, well up on mid-month forecasts of
800,000 to one million tonnes after a renewed opening in the
transatlantic arbitrage, traders said. NYMEX gasoline has repeatedly hit
new all-time highs since mid-April as rising U.S. demand for the motor
fuel and much lower stocks than last year stoke worries over shortages
during the peak summer driving season from late May to early September.
Most of the gasoline is Eurograde gasoline. Due to its vapor pressure,
this gasoline is not a suitable blendstock for making the tough
specification reformulated gasoline before oxygenate blending (RBOB)
used in the states of New York and Connecticut, traders said. Those
states have required RBOB since banning the component methyl tertiary
butyl ether earlier this year. However, non-oxygenated Eurograde
gasoline can be blended with MTBE to form reformulated gasoline for use
in other U.S. states, or with lower octane grades to make conventional
gasoline. A steady stream of low octane Russian gasoline to the U.S. has
helped feed the U.S. appetite for Eurograde, traders said. U.S. blenders
can mix Eurograde with Russian gasoline to form conventional gasoline
grades. The high volume of A-76 Russian material has led to prices for
the grade falling. This means buyers can afford to pay more for the
Eurograde for blending and still produce conventional gasoline at
competitive prices, traders said.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040429/energy_gasoline_exports_1.html>

#### Natural Gas 

Nothing to report.

####### Other

**Saudi 500,000 bpd Qatif Field Start by End-2004**\
Saudi Arabia\'s giant Qatif oilfield will come onstream in October this
year, the same time that the kingdom\'s Abu Safah field will also
increase capacity, officials from state oil company Saudi Aramco said on
Thursday. The field is expected to have a plateau period of at least 30
years, but officials did not say when the production peak would be
reached. Qatif is one of the fields that Saudi Arabia is banking on to
add to its current capacity of 10.5 million bpd.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040429/energy_saudi_crude_3.html>

#### IEA Warns OPEC Policy Creating Oil Crisis

OPEC\'s failure to increase oil supplies six months ago is pushing
prices towards crisis level, the head of the International Energy Agency
warned on Thursday. Asked by reporters whether OPEC should increase
output when it meets in June, Claude Mandil, executive director of the
IEA, said: \"I think they should have increased six months ago.\" \"What
I deeply regret is that, knowing these constraints in the refining
capacity in the world and particularly in the United States, the market
was not supplied in time,\" he added. \"It is now very difficult to
increase the flow of refined products.\" Bottlenecks in the refining
system, which have helped to push U.S. gasoline prices up to record
levels, have been blamed for raising oil prices to around \$37 a barrel
for U.S. light sweet crude.

Reuters 0818 April 29, 2004

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (4        | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /29/04)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 37.54     | 37.70     | 25.32      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 5.78      | 5.59      | 5.12       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **Henry Hub**                 |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Million Btu                |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+

> Source: Reuters

**This Week in Petroleum** from the Energy Information Administration
(EIA)

[*http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp*](http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp)

Updated on Wednesdays

**Weekly Petroleum Status Report** from EIA**\
**[*http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/wpsr.html*](http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/wpsr.html)

Updated after 1:00pm (Eastern time) on Wednesdays

**Natural Gas Weekly Update** from EIA

[*http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp*](http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp)

Updated after 2:00 pm (Eastern time) on Thursdays