Platts - Wednesday, April 12, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ French opinion split between deep, shallow nuclear waste storage London (Platts)--12Apr2006 French opinion is split almost evenly between deep and shallow storage nuclear waste, according to the latest national survey conducted for the Institute of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, or IRSN. Forty-six percent of those polled opted for near-surface disposal, while 42% preferred a deep repository, the "IRSN Barometer 2006" revealed. Among those with a higher education level, a majority (57%) favored a shallow repository allowing easier retrieval of waste for further treatment or if the waste packages degenerate too quickly, IRSN said in a summary of the poll issued today. The Barometer also indicated that the French public thinks the nuclear community is competent but not as credible as citizens' groups or medical doctors. Politicians scored less than 10% on the credibility issue, and 25% of Frenchmen said the country's future waste management law won't take into account the conclusions of the recent national debate on the subject. IRSN posted the report on its web site (www.irsn.org). For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ White House criticizes Iran's enrichment activities Washington (Platts)--11Apr2006 Iran is "moving in the wrong direction" with its nuclear program, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told journalists today when asked about reports that Tehran had begun enriching uranium. In a live speech today on state television, vice president and atomic energy chief Gholam Reza Aghazadeh announced that on April 9, Iran had enriched uranium to 3.5%, suitable for civilian reactor fuel, according to media reports. The enrichment was done at a pilot centrifuge plant in Natanz, reports said. Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said today that Iran was producing enriched uranium from a cascade of 164 centrifuges, reports said. In a separate speech today, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for the enrichment work to be speeded up. McClellan said, "This is a regime that has a long history of hiding its nuclear activities from the international community, and refusing to comply with its international obligations. Defiant statements and actions only further isolate the regime from the rest of the world, and further isolate the Iranian people." ------------ Downed Arizona nuclear units boost Southwest spot gas prices Houston (Platts)--11Apr2006 Southwest spot gas prices climbed as much a quarter from Monday's averages Tuesday, as some traders turned to the market for storage buying. Other market players speculated that downed nuclear facilities within the region were causing power plants to look to the spot gas market for answers. "The southern path of [Southern California Gas] is quite a bit higher than PG&E [South] on the power side," a California trader said, alluding to an abundance of utilities in the marketplace. "That's telling me that there's more demand down south. I think some nukes are down." Three of Arizona Public Service's Palo Verde units are offline, all of which supply power to portions of Califonia. Southern California Gas traded as high as 6.10/MMBtu, nearly 30 cents higher than Monday, but fell into the high $5.90s/MMBtu as trading progressed. The point averaged in the low $6.00s/MMBtu. Meanwhile, PG&E South averaged in the mid-$5.90s/MMBtu, about 15 cents above Monday's midpoint. Elsewhere, a "steady diet of storage injections" boosted buying in the production basins, and El Paso's San Juan Basin jumped 25 cents on the day to average in the mid-$5.80s/MMBtu. The Pacific Gas and Electric city-gates proved slightly weak relative to other price points, climbing around 15 cents from Monday, into the low to mid-$6.30s/MMBtu. ---Bronwen Taylor, bronwen_taylor@platts.com For more information, take a trial to Platts LNG Daily at http://www.LNGdaily.platts.com. ------------ Spending cut likely in Senate Washington (Platts)--10Apr2006 Two key Senate appropriators made it clear last month that they plan to cut DOE's $544 million request for the repository program in fiscal 2007, which begins October 1. "That has got to come down," said Republican Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that controls DOE spending. Domenici's comment came after a subcommittee hearing in which several members criticized the DOE budget request for cutting spending on clean coal and other energy programs. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the subcommittee's ranking Democrat and a fierce opponent of the DOE repository project at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, told reporters he didn't know how the much-delayed program could effectively spend that much money. For more information, take a trial to Nuclear Fuel at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Chairman Diaz will not seek third term at NRC Washington (Platts)--10Apr2006 NRC chairman Nils Diaz said he will not seek a third term at NRC. In a brief statement today, Diaz said he planned to return to Florida once his current term expires June 30 so he can spend time with his family. Diaz has been on the commission since August 1996, and chairman since April 2003. Nuclear Energy Institute President/CEO Frank "Skip" Bowman issued a statement praising Diaz for his leadership and called him "fair," "insightful" and "committed to fulfilling the NRC's mission." ------------