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

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

**February 12, 2004**

**Electricity**

#### Great River Energy\'s Coal Creek in MAPP Tripped Midday Wednesday

The plant which was running at 1200 MW, dropped to less than 700 MW of
electricity generation before recovering. The plant was back to near
full capacity by early Thursday. Genscape Overnight Update, February 12,
2004

**First Energy Takes Seneca Pumped Water Storage Facility Out of
Service** First Energy's 439 MW Seneca pumped water storage facility was
taken out of service Wednesday due to a leak in the reservoir. Officials
at the company could not say how long the station would be out of
service. Reuters, 12:11, February 12, 2004

**Callaway Nuclear Unit Halts Ramp Up After Repair Outage** In Missouri,
Ameren started to heat up its 1,125 MW Callaway nuclear plant after a
repair outage but halted the process due to a problem with a pressure
system, the company said in a report to the NRC. Reuters, 12:15,
February 12, 2004

**Hope Creek 1 and Salem 1 Nukes Return to Full Power** PSEG's 858 MW
Hope Creek 1 and 1,150 MW Salem 1 nuclear powered units in Hancocks
Bridge, New Jersey both returned to full power over the past two days
after clearing debris from water intake channels. Hope Creek reported a
return to full power yesterday and Salem 1 reported a return to full
power today. Bloomberg News, 16:39, February 11, 2004 and 14:44,
February 12, 2004

**Reliant Resources to Mothball or Retire Some Plants**\
Reliant Resources Inc. plans to mothball or retire 622 megawatts of
capacity at some peaking plants and units that serve the
Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland interconnection. The 20 generating
units involved are located at four sites in Pennsylvania and three in
New Jersey, with the capacity produced representing less than 1% of
total summer operating capacity in the interconnection. The units were
commissioned between 1970 and 1972. In a press release Thursday, the
energy company said it will review plans with state and federal
regulators, as well as other parties responsible for maintaining system
reliability, before taking any action. Reliant Resources said it will
shut down its 56-MW Wayne combustion turbine in Crawford County, Pa.,
because continuing to operate it would require a costly turbine
overhaul. The other 566 megawatts of capacity will be mothballed. The
company said it is evaluating an additional 470 megawatts of marginal
peaking capacity for future mothballing or retirement, should market
conditions continue to deteriorate.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/040212/1002000691_2.html>
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040212/utilities_reliantresources_pjm_1.html>

**Petroleum**

#### ConnocoPhillips Alliance Refinery Unit in Louisiana Shut by Fire

ConnocoPhillips said a fire yesterday at its 255,000 bpd Belle Chasse,
Louisiana refinery prompted the company to shut a 48,000 bpd naphtha
hydrotreater. "The rest of the facility is running normally," said a
company spokesman. The refinery can produce 100,000 bpd of gasoline. The
news lifted gasoline prices this morning at the Gulf. OPIS Price Watch
Alert 09:09 February 12, 2004 Bloomberg News, 11:51, February 12, 2004
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040212/energy_conoco_refinery_3.html>

**Train Derailment in New Jersey of Three Ethanol Tanker Rail Cars**

A New Jersey train derailment caused a neighborhood evacuation. Three
tank cars carrying ethanol derailed Wednesday, February 11, in
Woodbridge, NJ, and authorities evacuated 12 to 15 homes in the
township\'s Sewaren neighborhood as a precaution. The three cars, each
carrying 28,000 gallons of the gasoline additive, ran off the
Conrail/CSX tracks along East Avenue shortly after 1 p.m., said
Woodbridge Mayor Frank G. Pelzman. One flipped on its side, and
residents in the immediate area were evacuated to School No. 9, a
neighborhood elementary school, Pelzman said. Hazmat crews determined
that no ethanol had leaked out, Pelzman said, but residents were asked
to remain at the school until the cars were put back on the rails.\
<http://www.wnbc.com/traffic/2840393/detail.html>

**US to Add 19 million Barrels to Strategic Petroleum Reserve**\
The U.S. Energy Department said Thursday it awarded new contracts to
deliver about 19 million barrels of crude to the nation\'s emergency oil
stockpile over the next six months, which will keep more oil off the
market when supplies are expected to be tight. The shipments will
average 104,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the reserve over a six-month
period beginning in late April, the government said. About 643 million
barrels of oil are currently stored in underground salt caverns at the
reserve\'s four sites in Louisiana and Texas. The government wants to
bring inventories to their full capacity of 700 million barrels. Some
members of Congress and consumer groups have urged the Bush
administration to delay shipments to the reserve and put the extra oil
on the market to help boost available supplies and lower prices.
However, the administration has said the amount of oil going into the
reserve would have little impact on the roughly 20 million barrels of
crude consumed in the U.S. market, and it would be better to build the
stockpile in case of a major supply disruption.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040212/energy_stockpile_2.html>

**EIA Chief Says OPEC Cut to Keep Oil Stocks Low**\
OPEC\'s decision to cut its oil production will make it difficult to
build world crude inventories and will keep oil prices high, the head of
the U.S. Energy Information Administration told Congress on Thursday.
EIA chief Guy Caruso told a congressional panel that less OPEC oil
output will \"keep inventories on the low side and keep upward pressure
on prices.\" <http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040212/energy_eia_opec_1.html>

**Natural Gas**

**LNG Bulls on the Run at Houston CERA Meeting**\
Projections about the growth of the liquefied natural gas (LNG)
industry, both globally and in North America, have been optimistic for a
while, but speakers at the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates
(CERA) conference on Wednesday are predicting an absolutely robust
future. CERA's own forecast calls for the industry to double in size
over the next eight years. Energy Intelligence, Oil Daily, February 12,
2004

**Workers Shut Down Construction at Liquid Natural Gas Plant in
Trinidad**\
Protesting workers on Wednesday shut down a construction project at a
liquid natural gas plant that supplies the United States with more than
three-fourths of its natural gas imports, a company spokeswoman said.
Production was not affected by the protest because the construction site
is separate from normal operations, Atlantic LNG spokeswoman Esther Le
Gendre said.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/040211/cb_fin_trinidad_atlantic_lng_2.html>

**Other News**

**Saudi Paper: US Waging \'Open War\' on OPEC**\
A leading Saudi Arabian newspaper said on Thursday the United States had
no right to warn OPEC against cutting oil output and accused Washington
of waging war on the cartel under the guise of protecting the global
economy. OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday announced a surprise
reduction in crude supplies from April, drawing a caution from the
United States that it risked stunting world economic growth. .
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/040212/saudi_usa_newspaper_2.html>

**Mexico Says Not Decided Yet on Crude Export Cut in Line with OPEC**

Mexico said Wednesday it is biding its time before deciding whether to
reduce crude exports in line with OPEC\'s decision in Algiers this week
to cut its combined production ceiling by 1-mil b/d to 23.5-mil b/d
starting Apr 1. The Mexican energy ministry in a statement said that
\"within the limits of its possibilities\" it remained willing to
cooperate with OPEC in efforts to maintain market stability. But it
added that state oil and gas company Pemex had to fulfill revenue
targets set by the Congress.
[http://www.platts.com/Oil/News/Mexico%20says%20not%20decided%20yet%20on%20crude%20export%20cut%20in%20line%20with%20OPEC.xml?p=Oil/News&S=n](http://www.platts.com/Oil/News/Mexico says not decided yet on crude export cut in line with OPEC.xml?p=Oil/News&S=n)

**OPEC May Take "Action" Before March 31 According to OPEC President**
OPEC's President Purnomo Yusfiantoro said rising oil prices may lead to
"further action" before a March 31 meeting echoing officials in Saudi
Arabia, Libya, and Nigeria who said they expect the group's decision to
cut second quarter output to be reviewed if price gains continue.
Bloomberg News, 05:08, February 12, 2004

**Consol Expects Lost Production in Buchanan Mine**\
Coal miner Consol Energy on Wednesday said it will not produce coal out
of a mine in Virginia for about two weeks due to equipment failure, and
one analyst expected potential problems for customers. The company could
lose up to 250,000 tons of coal production because equipment that hoists
the coal out of the Buchanan mine broke down, but it does not expect the
delay to impact earnings, Consol spokesman Thomas Hoffman said.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040211/energy_consol_buchanan_3.html>

**Oil Thieves Rupture Shell Pipeline in Nigeria**

Crude oil thieves have ruptured a big crude oil pipeline in southern
Nigeria operated by Royal Dutch/Shell, causing a fire to break out, oil
industry sources and residents said on Thursday. The Rumuekpe manifold
carries 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil towards the Bonny
terminal for export to world markets. A senior industry source said he
expected the line to be shut down for nine hours on Friday to complete
the repairs. Crude oil theft is common in Nigeria\'s oil-rich delta,
where impoverished fishing communities play reluctant host to
multinational oil companies. The rate of theft peaked near 100,000 bpd
last year during an upsurge of violence between rival ethnic groups, but
it has subsided to around 20,000 bpd after the government deployed
thousands of troops to quell the fighting. Nigeria pumps around 2.3
million bpd of crude oil, but it still has about 200,000 bpd shut in
because of security fears following last year\'s unrest.

Reuters, 13:51 February 12, 2004

#### California Faces Power Blackouts Without Market Clarity, Edison International 

California will not attract investment for new electric power plants
until state leaders clarify industry rules, putting consumers at risk
for summer blackouts, Edison International Chairman John Bryson said.
"There's no clarity I how electricity should be provided in California,
the role of the utilities and independent power producers and the myriad
of agencies we have, Bryson said at the Cambridge Energy Research
Associates annual conference in Houston. Bloomberg News, 12:44 February
12, 2004

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (2        | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /12/04)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 33.98     | 33.26     | 35.83      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 5.35      | 5.54      | 6.19       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **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