U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Assurance

ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY

January 28, 2005

Electricity

The 830 MW High Desert Gas-Fired Plant Curtailed by Only 30 MW, as More Power Comes Back on Line.

Reuters, 1349 January 28, 2005

Petroleum

ChevronTexaco May Take 2-3 Years to Restore Oil Production in Nigerian Delta
U.S. multinational ChevronTexaco may take another 2-3 years to restore 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production closed during ethnic violence in Nigeria's delta region in 2003, a top manager said on Friday. The fields, located in the swamps on the western side of the Niger Delta, were sabotaged and looted during months of fighting between rival ethnic groups around the city of Warri in the run-up to 2003 elections. The company aims to reopen three of the damaged fields this year, but output will rise only slowly, "possibly" reaching 400,000 bpd by December.
Reuters, January 28, 2005
Update -- Nigeria in Talks to Restart 35,000 bpd Shell Output

Nigerian authorities are still negotiating to end a community protest that has shut 35,000 barrels per day oil output of Royal Dutch Shell Group for the fourth day, the energy giant said on Friday.

Reuters, 1124 January 28, 2005

Update -- Sunoco Logistics Says No Time for Pipeline Return

Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. on Friday said it had no estimated time for a return to service of its Mid-Valley Pipeline, a crude oil line closed down after a leak was discovered on Wednesday. The pipeline, which delivers an average of 195,000 barrels per day of sweet crude from Texas to Ohio, feeding Sunoco Inc.'s Toledo refinery and Premcor's Lima refinery, was still being stabilized prior to the start of repair work. The leak was near the north bank of the Kentucky River about 10 miles north of Carrollton, KY.

Reuters, 1029, January 28, 2005

Natural Gas

Gas Leak Causes 10,000 Southwest Gas Customers to Lose Service

As many as 10,000 Southwest Gas customers in north Phoenix, Arizona, lost natural gas service Thursday afternoon after the utility company shut down a portion of its system to find and repair a malfunctioning valve, a company spokeswoman said. The company detected a leak on the system Thursday morning but couldn't find its source, the spokeswoman noted. As a precautionary measure, the company shut down the system in the area where the leak was believed to be located. By pressure-testing the lines, workmen found gas leaking from a cracked valve under an off-ramp of Interstate 17. http://www.platts.com/Natural%20Gas/News/2286633.xml?S=n

Other News

Columbian-Venezuelan Border Dispute Could Delay Coal from Reaching US

Traders were divided as to whether a diplomatic dispute between Colombia and Venezuela could delay thousands of tons of Colombian coal from reaching the US market. Venezuela closed its borders to traffic, including coal trucks from mines in Colombia, on Jan. 14 after alleged agents of the Colombian government arrested a guerrilla leader in Venezuela's capital Caracas. One trader claimed the dispute could suck a couple of hundred thousand tons of much-needed coal out of the US market.

http://www.platts.com/Coal/News/3904458.xml?S=n

Energy Prices

Latest (1/28/05) / Week Ago / Year Ago
CRUDE OIL
West Texas Intermediate US
$/Barrel / 47.15 / 48.31 / 33.63
NATURAL GAS
Henry Hub
$/Million Btu / 6.23 / 6.43 / 6.04

Source: Reuters

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

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

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

Natural Gas Weekly Update from EIA

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp

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