ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY

November 24, 2003

Electricity

South Company’s Baxley Nuke Plant Cuts Power to 75%

Southern Company’s 924 MW nuclear plant at Baxley, Georgia cut power over the weekend to 75% due to a condensation feedwater problem. A spokesman for the plant stated that the plant should be up to full power later on Monday. The plant had problems the previous weekend as well with a rod pattern adjustment, as reported in the Energy Assurance Daily last Monday.

Source: Bloomberg, 0909 Nov 24 2003

Petroleum

Murphy’s Meraux Plant Operational After Weekend Fire
Murphy's 110,000 - 125,000 barrel per day Meraux, Louisiana refinery is operating normally following
a Saturday fire that hit a new hydrocracker unit that was being tested. A Murphy spokeswoman confirmed that the fire was confined to the 32,000 barrel per day hydrocracker, and that other units at the plant were not affected. The spokeswoman said that it would take about a week to complete repairs on the unit, and that startup procedures would begin soon afterward. A hydrocracker is a unit used to process high-octane gasolines, jet fuels, and reformer changer stocks. Earlier Monday, a source with knowledge of the refinery's operations said its gasoline unit had restarted after being shut on Sunday. The spokeswoman said the unit's shutdown was probably a precautionary measure as a result of the fire in the hydrocracker. http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/031124/energy_murphy_refinery_2.html Source: OPIS Alert 2003-11-24 11:12:54 EST

Premcor’s Port Arthur Plant Operations Slowed at Gas Unit Premcor’s Fluid Catalytic Cracker unit malfunctioned at 8:20 p.m. on Sunday, which led to emissions of CO2. These emissions were halted at 12:20 a.m. this morning. The problems slowed up the gas unit at the 250,000 barrel per day refinery. Source: Bloomberg, 1243 Nov 24 2003.

West Coast Gasoline Up On Possible Refinery Trouble
Unleaded gasoline prices jumped four cents on Friday afternoon in the West Coast refined products markets, on rumors of a problem with the coker at Shell Oil Co.'s 155,000 barrel per day refinery in Martinez, California, said traders. No further information has been reported on this rumor since Friday. http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/031121/energy_shell_refinery_1.html

ChevronTexaco Nigeria Crude Production Remains Shut In ChevronTexaco Corp.'s Nigeria unit will keep production of 23,000 barrels a day of crude oil shut in until all affected facilities have been inspected, the company said Sunday. http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/031124/0911000601_2.html

More Oil Workers Taken Hostage in Nigeria and Then Released On Sunday, contract workers were ambushed while ferrying supplies by barge to Shell's Forcados/Yokri oil and gas facility in the Niger delta on Sunday. Security forces freed some of the hostages, but nine had remained captive. "Following intervention of elders and leaders of the Ogulagha community, all nine crew members have been released," he said. Nigeria is an OPEC member and the world's seventh largest oil exporter.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/031124/nigeria_kidnap_shell_1.html

Natural Gas

Nothing to report.

Other News

Nothing to report.

Energy Prices

Latest (11/24/03) / Week Ago / Year Ago
CRUDE OIL
West Texas Intermediate US
$/Barrel / 30.25 / 31.74 / 26.68
NATURAL GAS
Henry Hub
$/Million Btu / 4.57 / 4.49 / 4.25

Source: Reuters, Wall Street Journal

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

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp

Last Updated on November 19, 2003

Natural Gas Weekly Update from EIA

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

Last Updated on November 20, 2003

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