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Gold/Mining/Energy : KERM'S KORNER -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12433)	9/23/1998 11:43:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

THE NEWS / U.S. Gas Prices Reach Lowest Levels in 6 Years AP 23-SEP-98 NEW YORK (AP) -- The average price of gasoline is at its lowest level in more than six years and is down nearly 25 cents from this time a year ago, the American Automobile Association says. The AAA, which surveys gas prices around the nation each month, said the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular unleaded gas this month was $1.057, down 1.8 cents from August and 23.1 cents from last year. The average is the lowest since March 1992, when a gallon of self-serve regular unleaded averaged $1.049. Gas prices have fallen at the pump as supplies remained plentiful even during the summer driving season. The drop in the retail price reflects a slide in wholesale gas and crude oil prices. The average price of self-serve mid-grade gas this month was $1.145, down 2.1 cents from August and 22.6 cents from September 1997. Self-serve premium averaged $1.208 this month, down 1.4 cents from August and 22.4 cents from a year ago. The AAA said its survey showed regular unleaded gas was most expensive in the West ($1.211 per gallon) and least expensive in the Southeast (97.4 cents). Other regional prices for regular unleaded: New England, $1.058; Mid-Atlantic states, $1.041; Great Lakes states, $1.02; Midwest, $1.016; and Southwest, $1.012.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12433)	9/23/1998 11:53:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Solv-Ex wants complaint tossed By SUN MEDIA FORT McMURRAY -- Solv-Ex Corp. has asked a U.S. district court to dismiss a complaint filed against the company by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In a 24-page complaint presented to the court in Albuquerque, New Mexico, last July, the SEC accused Solv-Ex Corp. and two of its top executives of defrauding investors. Last week, Solv-Ex argued the allegations are "without merit." The company's public statements and filings are correct, Solv-Ex said, and will be proved by the company and independent consultants. The federal regulatory agency has alleged Solv-Ex CEO John Rendall and vice-president Herbert Campbell made "false and misleading statements" from January 1995 through April 1997 concerning their methods for extracting and processing oil and industrial minerals from the oilsands. The SEC alleges Solv-Ex promoted a technology that didn't work to produce metallic aluminum. The complaint also alleges Solv-Ex understated its outstanding common stock by three million shares; Solv-Ex says the certificates were cancelled because a proposed funding agreement was never completed.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12433)	9/23/1998 12:04:00 PM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Companies Drilling Deeper, Further Afield 9/19/98 By CHRIS FLANAGAN Business Editor The Telegram The latest round of offshore bids will take oil companies further and deeper than they have traditionally ventured on the Grand Banks. But drilling in waters as deep a 1,300 metres at distances more than 400 kilometres from St. John's should not present any additional technological hurdles, said Mobil Oil's Andrew Adams. Adams, a Newfoundlander who graduated from Memorial University's Engineering Faculty in 1980, has moved back to St. John's after 18 years with Mobil Oil, mostly in Calgary. Mobil was the biggest spender in this year's call for bids on the Grand Banks, committing to at least 30 per cent of six multimillion-dollar joint venture bids and outpacing Chevron and Petro-Canada by a few million dollars. Norsk Hydro Canada was also a major player, partnering with the big three on almost every bid. Husky Oil's bids represent a total of $14.6 million, while Pan-Canadian and Tatham Offshore bid about $1 million each. Mobil's total commitment represents just more than $48 million of the $175 million bid by seven operators, and the bulk of it is destined for exploration on two new parcels in the Flemish Pass, nearly 100 kilometres east of Hibernia. "Certainly the expansion into the Flemish pass is the big news on this land sale," Adams said in an interview Friday. "Up to this point we've been primary focusing on the Jeanne d'Arc Basin. This opens up a new area within the Grand Banks." The deeper water - ranging from 1,000 to 1,300 metres - might actually make drilling simpler because iceberg scour is not a big problem, Adams said. At Terra Nova, for example, deep holes must be excavated on the ocean floor to protect subsea drilling equipment from passing icebergs. "Certainly the water depth is not going to be a problem in the Flemish pass," Adams said. "When you look worldwide, most of the exploration basins are moving into deep water, waters much deeper than we're looking at on the Flemish Pass." Two years ago, the 400 kilometres between St. John's and the Flemish Pass might have made it a costly, high-risk area for helicopters - particularly in foggy weather. But with the Hibernia platform sitting on the bottom, three quarters of the way there, helicopter pilots have a potential refueling station along the way. But the Grand Banks remains a tough place to explore, Adams said. "The two technical challenges on the Grand Banks remain ice management and the ability to commercially develop the gas resource," Adams said. "I'm certainly hopeful that we will see commercial development of gas on the Grand Banks and Mobil and our partners are supporting that kind of research." Adams sees the two Flemish Pass sites as potential stand-alone projects in the 300-million to 500-million barrel range and the four Jeanne d'Arc basin parcels as potential add-on reservoirs for existing discoveries. Mobil's tentative plans call for further seismic work on the Jeanne d'Arc prospects and seismic work followed by drilling toward the end of the five-year lease on the Flemish pass.