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

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

**November 5, 2004**

**Highlights / Major Developments**

**Ship Hits Gas Platform off Texas\
**A freighter struck an unmanned natural gas platform off Galveston,
Texas, early Friday, setting the rig ablaze, the Coast Guard said. Coast
Guard spokesman Lt. Nick Wong said the 335-foot ship SCM Athina collided
with the High Island 207 gas platform around 3 a.m. Central time. The
platform, 17 miles offshore, is owned by Houston-based EOG Resources.
All gas lines on the platform, which sustained extensive damage, have
been shut. The fire, seen from shore, \"should be extinguished by now,\"
Wong added. Offshore oil-supply boats in the area had rushed to the
scene to put out the fire. EOG spokeswoman Elizabeth Ivers said the
platform housed a \"low-producing well\" that had been shut for the past
30 days.
[http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo&guid=%7BC9AEBFA2%2DE32C%2D4694%2DA3AC%2DD0BB14B5A27E%7D](http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo&guid={C9AEBFA2-E32C-4694-A3AC-D0BB14B5A27E})
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-brf-ship-collision,0,972056.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines>

**Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Prices Drop 18% on Friday**

In the spot market, traders said natural gas for delivery from Saturday
through Monday at the benchmark Henry Hub and the New York regions both
fell about \$1.30 to the \$6.00s and \$6.50s per million British thermal
units, respectively. The Henry Hub Price reported in the Energy
Assurance Daily is down from \$7.40 to \$6.08 per million BTU -- That is
a reduction in price of about 18%.\
Reuters, 1337 November 5, 2004

**Electricity**

**Duane Arnold Nuclear Unit in Iowa Boosts Production**\
Alliant Energy Corp.\'s 565-megawatt Duane Arnold 1 nuclear unit
increased production to 85 percent of capacity from 50 percent
yesterday. Output was reduced yesterday to repair a feed-water valve.
Bloomberg News, November 5, 2004

# Dominion Reduces Power at Conn. Millstone 2 Nuke Virginia-based Dominion Resources Inc. reduced power at its 871-megawatt Millstone 2 nuclear unit in Connecticut to about 45 percent of capacity because heavy storm debris in the Long Island Sound is clogging the unit\'s cooling water intake, a plant spokesman said Friday. The company is clearing the debris - leaves and seaweed - and will likely not have to shut the unit, the spokesman said. The company reduced the plant\'s output earlier this week to work on one of the unit\'s four circulating water pumps. The company is ready to replace the pump, which stands about 20 feet high, but could not do so this morning because of high winds around the plant. Reuters, 1133 November 5, 2004

**East Coast Buffeted by Strong Winds Friday, Thousands Lose Power**

  ---------------------------------- --------------------------- -----------
  **Number of Customers Out of       **Utility**                 **State**
  Power**                                                        

  27,000                             Massachusetts Electric      MA

  20,000                             Connecticut Light & Power   CT

  20,000                             Baltimore Gas & Electric    MD

  8,300                              Not reported                NY

  4,400                              Public Service Co.          NH
  ---------------------------------- --------------------------- -----------

MA
<http://www.wrgb.com/news/regional/regional.asp?selection=article_24245>\
CT <http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=2527127&nav=3YeXSo7B>\
MD <http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1104/185442.html>\
NH <http://www.thewmurchannel.com/weather/3892866/detail.html>\
NY <http://www.wroctv.com/news/story.asp?id=15555&r=l>

**Dane County, WI Needs at Least Four More High-power Transmission
Lines**

These would cost up to \$200 million to bring electricity into the area
or there could be blackouts within seven to 10 years, experts warned
Wednesday.\
The biggest projects in Dane County include:\
\* Upgrading a 138-kilovolt line from Downtown Madison north to Waunakee
and extending the line to the town of Vienna by 2008.\
\* A new 345-kilovolt line just south of Madison, from west Middleton to
Rockdale, in eastern Dane County by 2011.\
\* A new 345-kilovolt line from west Middleton north to the town of
Vienna by 2014.\
\* Upgrading to a 138-kilovolt line from west Middleton to Downtown
Madison by 2015.\
<http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=wsj:2004:11:04:392315:BUSINESS>

**Petroleum**

**Hurricane Ivan Oil Production Shut-in Statistics**

Shut-in oil production is equivalent to 12.49% of daily production of
oil in GOM, which is approximately 1.7 million BOPD.  The 212,369
barrels per day that is currently shut-in is approximately 1.08% of the
19.7 million barrels consumed in the U.S. each day. The cumulative
shut-in oil production for the period 9/11/04-11/5/04 is 27,853,198
bbls, which is equivalent to 4.604% of the yearly production of oil in
the GOM which is approximately 605 million barrels.\
<http://www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2004/press1105b.htm>

**Investors propose ethanol plant in Fairbank, Iowa\
**Investors are proposing what would be one of the state\'s largest
ethanol plants on a site on the Fayette and Buchanan county border.
Midwest Renewables of Iowa Falls would like to build a \$98 million
facility that could create more than 40 jobs and produce up to 100
million gallons of ethanol annually. Buchanan County supervisors
approved zoning changes for the project Monday and Fayette officials
will consider the same beginning tonight.
[http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5EZkmnrropXShf%22EN%26bfej%5B%21](http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp^ZkmnrropXShf"EN%26bfej%5B!)

**Exxon Seeks OK to Up Capacity at Largest U.S. Plant**

Exxon Mobil Corp. is seeking approval to expand the crude oil processing
capacity of the largest U.S. refinery by 18,000 barrels per day,
according to the Port of Houston Authority. Exxon Mobil asked Port of
Houston officials to seek approval for the expansion at the 557,000 bpd
Baytown, Texas refinery from the U.S. Commerce Department\'s
Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Port spokeswoman Felicia Griffin said on
Thursday.\
Reuters, 1817 November 4, 2004

**Oil Falls to Six-Week Low**

Oil slid to a six-week low on Friday, continuing a fund-led selling
spree that has knocked 13 percent from last week\'s record highs as
rising stockpiles have eased worries of a winter supply crunch. U.S.
light crude fell 52 cents to \$48.30, the lowest level since 24
September. London Brent crude fell 33 cents to \$45.68 a barrel. U.S.
crude has now racked up more than \$7 in losses in the last nine trading
days from an all-time New York futures high at \$55.67.
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=1&u=/nm/20041105/ts_nm/markets_oil_dc_47>

# 

# Natural Gas

**Hurricane Ivan Natural Gas Production Shut-in Statistics**\
Shut-in gas production is equivalent to 6.03% of the daily production of
gas in the GOM, which is approximately 12.3 BCFPD.  The 742.16 MMCF per
day that is currently shut-in is approximately 1.23% of the 60.184 BCF
consumed in the U.S. each day. The cumulative shut-in gas production
9/11/04-11/5/04 is 113.243 BCF, which is equivalent to 2.545% of the
yearly production of gas in the GOM which is approximately 4.45 TCF.\
<http://www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2004/press1105b.htm>

**Southern Says Gulf Pipeline Replacement Could Last 6-12 Months**\
The amount of Gulf of Mexico gas production shut in due to damage from
Hurricane Ivan dropped sharply this week to about 743 MMcf/d on Thursday
from 1.2 Bcf/d last Friday. However, Southern Natural Gas has reported
that pipeline replacement work at Main Pass 298 will leave about 240
MMcf/d shut in for six to 12 months. Natural Gas Intelligence, November
4, 2004
[http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5DZkmnsmjsZShf%22EN%26bfej%5B%21](http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5DZkmnsmjsZShf"EN%26bfej%5B!)

**Ingleside Seeks FERC OK to Build Texas Coast LNG Plant**\
Ingleside Energy Center LLC, an affiliate of Occidental Petroleum Corp.,
has filed an application seeking approval to build and operate a
liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast.
[**NGI\'s Daily Gas Price
Index**](http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/subscribers/daily/)* *
November 04, 2004
[http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5DZkmnsmjsZShf%22EN%26bfej%5B%21](http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5DZkmnsmjsZShf"EN%26bfej%5B!)

**Other News**

Nothing to report.

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (11       | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /05/04)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 49.65     | 51.78     | 30.29      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 6.08      | 6.43      | 4.46       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **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