![](media/image1.jpeg){width="8.5in" height="3.5027777777777778in"}U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

###### March 23, 2004

**Electricity**

Deseret's **Bonanza** in WECC remains offline early Tuesday after
tripping Monday due to a boiler tube leak.

TVA's **Cumberland** in SERC tripped overnight and is running near 50%
early Tuesday.

Genscape Overnight Update, March 23, 2004

**AmerGen's Illinois Clinton Nuke Shut After Trip**

AmerGen Energy's 950 megawatt Clinton nuclear unit in Illinois was shut
late Monday following a reactor trip caused by a generator trip, the NRC
said Tuesday in its daily event notification report. A plant spokesman
said there was an "over-voltage" problem in the generator and plant
operators were trying to determine the cause. There was no word on when
the plant would resume power production. The unit, in Clinton, Illinois,
had been running at 93 percent power prior to the trip, the NRC said.

Reuters, March 23, 2004, 1132

**Petroleum**

**Sunoco Says Tulsa Refinery Fire Under Control**

The fire which broke out Tuesday morning at the propane de-asphalting
unit of Sunoco Inc.'s refinery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is contained and
under control, the company said. Sunoco said the fire is isolated to the
propane de-asphalting unit, which makes heavy industrial lubricants, and
the rest of the plant is operating normally. The cause of the fire and
the extent of the damage are not known. The refinery has capacity to
process 90,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Its output is mostly
lubricants and chemicals and the refinery does not have a catalytic
cracker used to produce gasoline. There were no injuries reported and no
emission of harmful chemicals into the air, the company statement said.

<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040323/energy_sunoco_fire_3.html>

**Gasoline Pump Prices Hit All-Time High**

U.S. average retail gasoline prices hit an all-time high on Tuesday as a
tight-fisted OPEC policy and rising demand constricted supplies,
according to the American Automobile Association. The average price for
regular gasoline at the nation\'s pumps was \$1.738 per gallon, up a
tenth of a cent from the previous record hit in late summer 2003,
according to the motorist group\'s survey of more than 60,000 stations.
"Unstable gasoline prices make budgeting for fuel costs extremely
difficult for families and businesses," AAA stated in a release, urging
new policies to simplify production and distribution of fuels. Energy
prices have been on the rise in recent months, with U.S. stockpiles
lingering near their lowest levels since the 1970s amid an economic
recovery that has spurred higher demand.

Reuters, March 23, 2004, 1129

<http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/040323/energy_gasoline_retail_5.html>

**Europe Ready to Meet Tough U.S. Gasoline Specs, At a Price**

Some of Europe's biggest hitters in the gasoline export trade say they
can supply the United States with high specification summer fuel,
meeting stringent new U.S. regulations, but warn hefty price premiums
would be needed to make such flows profitable. This will go some way to
allay fears that bans by New York state, Connecticut and California on
gasoline blending component methyl tertiary butyl ether, (MTBE) coupled
with a U.S.-wide cut in sulfur limits in gasoline, could result in
shortages in the peak driving season from late May to early September.
However, assessments by oil majors and export-oriented refiners will add
to worries that U.S. motorists, already hit by pump prices near record
highs, will face yet higher fuel costs, especially those living in
states that have this year outlawed MTBE. New York and Connecticut rely
on imports for 60 percent of their gasoline supply. Europe supplies
about a quarter of total U.S. import requirements, with the bulk of
transatlantic flows landing in New York harbor. The two states account
for roughly a third of the U.S. east coast's 1.235 million bpd
consumption of reformulated gasoline. California accounts for the bulk
of west coast total gasoline consumption of 1.1 million bpd.

<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040322/energy_gasoline_survey_2.html>

#### Natural Gas 

During scheduled maintenance on Unit #301 at Compressor Station 3 in
Port Lavaca, TX, it was discovered that more extensive work will be
required, **Florida Gas Transmission** said Monday. The unit is now
expected to remain unavailable until April 25, during which FGT will
schedule up to about 180,000 MMBtu/d through the station, down from
normal capacity of 230,000 MMBtu/d. Previously the pipeline had expected
to finish the Station 3 project by March 31

NGI's *Daily* Gas Price Index, *March 23, 2004*

####### 

####### Other

**North Iraq LPG pipeline on fire after sabotage**

A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pipeline in northern Iraq was on fire on
Tuesday after coming under attack by saboteurs, an oil official said.
Majid Manoun of the North Oil Company said an explosion ripped through
the pipeline overnight. \"This is not an isolated incident. The northern
pipeline network has been coming under attack,\" Manoun said. Iraq\'s
northern pipeline network pumps crude oil from Kirkuk for domestic
production and export through Turkey, passing through the Beiji refinery
and also carries LPG and oil products. LPG pipelines are easier to
sabotage than the main crude line because they are less well protected
and run mostly above ground. Officials say sabotage attacks on the crude
pipeline, much of which is subterranean, have dropped as security has
tightened. Last month it began operating at around 300,000 barrels per
day, around a quarter of its maximum capacity. Iraq\'s LPG production
has risen in recent months to 2,000-2,500 tons per day and a secure
pipeline network is essential to keep meeting domestic demand and
forecasts of Iraq becoming a net exporter of LPG by the end of this
year.

Reuters, 23 March 2004 1240

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (3        | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /23/04)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 37.81     | 37.34     | 29.51      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 5.36      | 5.60      | 5.07       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **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