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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Selectric II who wrote (2687)	9/20/2000 11:54:24 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 65232

Exxon Mobil says boosting heating oil production WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM - news), the nation's biggest oil company, said on Wednesday it had increased production of home heating oil and was already manufacturing 10 to 15 percent more than a year ago. Steve Simon, president of Exxon Mobil's refining division, told the House Government Reform committee that it expected sufficient supplies of heating oil to be available to American consumers this winter. ``Exxon Mobil is currently increasing production of distillates and, in fact, are now producing 10 to 15 percent more than we were at this time last year,'' Simon said. ``We have also taken steps this year to improve our ability to move heating oil from our Gulf Coast refineries to the Northeast.'' Simon was among a half dozen industry executives who testified before the panel on soaring prices of crude oil, heating oil and natural gas. Crude oil futures roared as high as $37.80 a barrel on Wednesday before dipping to close at $37.20 a barrel. Prices have climbed nearly $4 this month to the highest level in a decade, mostly on tensions between oil-producing giants Iraq and Kuwait. Simon also said Exxon Mobil had ``significant concerns'' about the U.S. government's recent creation of a Northeast heating oil reserve to cushion homeowners there from a price spike. The government has already pumped some 500,000 barrels of heating oil into reserve storage sites in Connecticut and New Jersey, which will eventually hold a total of 2 million barrels. ``A regional reserve would not necessarily help when unusual weather conditions prevent home heating oil from being moved into individual Northeast markets,'' he said. Congress should ``consider what impacts establishing a trigger to release product from the Northeast heating oil reserve will have on the industry's ability to react to all the market forces of supply and demand.'' The U.S. government also maintains a 571 million barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve, filled with emergency crude oil supplies. The reserve has been the subject of growing speculation as the Clinton administration is mulling the release of crude to help ease prices. biz.yahoo.com Ö¿Ö