CNN Moneyline Tonite 6:30 PM EST - Y2K & Oil Refineries

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Just saw the teaser for this one. Looks like somebody got a whiff of the embedded systems and refineries issue. From the video shown in the promo, they were checking the program in an embedded controller and Lou Dobbs was saying "Y2K and oil refineries. What one manufacturer is doing about it." There was also some statement along the lines of "What does it mean for you at home."

I personally don't go out of my way to watch CNN, but this might be an exception. I just jope they don't come off with some crap like: "Oil refineries will fall from the sky!"

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), February 22, 1999

Answers

Thanks WW. I'll be busy at 6:30, so PLEASE folks, put an update in this thread, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE... <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 22, 1999.

"Y2K brought to you by NORTEL"

And some people thought this wasn't a money making scam?

Seems like everything is tip top shape for BP Oil. Same for most other companies? I don't know. I'm sure the fool who reports that stuff for CNN has no clue either. Do they let those guys see the script before they try and read it live on the air? I honestly don't see how you can get any reliable information from a ten minute bit like this.

Y2K brought to you by NORTEL...

I still can't figure out if that is sad or ironic. I guess I'll know in about 300 days give or take.

-- (Lancelot@tavern link.com), February 22, 1999.


It just finished running. They did try and explain the embedded devices problem as it applies to the oil industry: refineries, off- shore drilling rigs, tankers and point-of-sale systems. BP-Amoco (I wonder who was Y2K aware and who was late to the dance in that merger?) was the company they focused on.

Their spokeswoman did a good job in describing the problem in recognizing, finding and fixing an embedded device. I was impressed with how she admitted how hard it was to come to grasps with the idea that they could have hardware issues; spoken like a true software manager.

The technician they showed described the process used to hunt for problems and he did accurately describe how to go about the fix action, no actors there. It was interesting to hear that at 2500 gas stations, the company replaced their point-of-sale systems last year.

If there was anything that concerns me were the "sixty percent complete with critical systems" and "expecting to be done" comments.

Overall, a decent news story considering it ran on the national media. And we can be glad, oil tankers and refineries won't fall from the sky. At least they didn't say so. And I don't think they'd lie or withhold the facts about that...

Oh my gosh! I've got to go dig a falling oil tanker and refinery shelter!

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), February 22, 1999.


Thank you very much WW. I appreciate the time you took to post this review. This problem is high on my list of concerns. I O U 1 <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 23, 1999.

Thanks for the post WW. Don't get U.S. TV here... Did any of the techs mention hardware replacement percentages?

-- PNG (png@gol.com), February 23, 1999.


It was an interesting piece. Even had a cute little millennium countdown clock running in a window during the whole segment.

The bulk of it seemed to focus on one Louisiana refinery. What really struck me though, was that the story never once mentioned the conditions in any other company, or more importantly, anywhere outside the US.

Which is of course where most of oil comes from.

-- Lewis (aslanshow@yahoo.com), February 23, 1999.


2 CNN transcript blips -- oil refineries is second. -- Diane

Moneyline News Hour with Lou Dobbs

http:// cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/9902/19/mlld.00.html

... DOBBS: Up next, computer mayhem may or may not be coming, but why risk it? We'll have investment advice for you for the new millennium when the MONEYLINE NEWS HOUR continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

...In our countdown to Y2K and the possible computer nightmare that might ensue on January 1st, tonight, we examine the protection of your portfolio. Some companies are more susceptible to computer bugs than others, of course, but there are safe investments and even opportunities on the eve of the millennium.

Charles Molineaux has the report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Will the company whose stock you own be brought to a halt at the beginning of the year 2000? The answers are available for most investors.

RON HILL, BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN: One of the issues is, when you research companies, by and large, they now have a statement on Y2K compliance, which they're sort of required to give you. Often, it will be in the annual report. Certainly, securities analysts are continuously asking the question to make sure that, in fact, you know, the companies are up to speed on the challenges of the year 2000 conversion.

MOLINEAUX: Updates on millennium compliance are usually available on company and Securities and Exchange Commission Web sites. The largest U.S. companies get the highest marks for Y2K preparedness. Among the "Fortune" 500, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter reports the areas of finance, technology, and healthcare have the most firms whose compliance efforts are well along, while a few companies are already rated as all systems go. Those with the highest ratings include Sun America and AIG among the financials, tech giants like IBM and Dell, healthcare companies Eli Lilly and Pfizer, and several major retailers, like Wal-Mart and The Gap, but investment advisers see problems when they look away from the biggest corporations.

LAURA LEDERMAN, WILLIAM BLAIR: More of a problem with Y2K really relates to medium- and small-size companies that don't have the "it," savvy or the money to fix the problem.

TIMOTHY GHRISKY, DREYFUS: If it really seems like they've totally put it to bed, then there's an opportunity there, but you have to do your homework.

MOLINEAUX: Analysts say investors should look for sudden increases in a company's Y2K spending, which could mean it has fallen behind in preparation.

[NOTE: ...look for sudden increases in a company's Y2K spending, which could mean it has fallen behind in preparation. Hummn]

(on camera): As for fund investors, strategists say the vast majority of 401(k)s and mutual funds are ready for Y2K and fund managers routinely look at compliance when they choose companies to invest in, although, of course, the funds' fortunes are tied to the mood of the overall market and its possible nervousness about Y2K.

Charles Molineaux, CNN Financial News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOBBS: On Monday's "MONEYLINE Y2K Countdown," will you be able to fill your gasoline tank and heat your home after January 1st? Well, Monday, we will take a look at oil refineries and the Y2K bug.

Moneyline News Hour with Lou Dobbs
Aired February 22, 1999 - 6:30 p.m. ET

http:// cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/9902/22/mlld.00.html

In Washington today, Congress released the year's first report card on government progress in fixing Y2K problems. Overall, the government gets a C-plus. At the bottom, the Departments of State and Transportation both flunked. Health & Human Services, Agriculture, and the Department of Defense earned only Cs. But there is some good news. Social Security and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are among 11 agencies that scored As.

In our countdown to Y2K and the possible computer nightmare that could hit on January 1st, tonight, driving into the year 2000 on a full tank of gas. The oil industry uses millions of computer chips to transform crude oil into a gallon of regular unleaded, and that is part of the problem.

Fred Katayama reports on the advisability of topping off your tank on New Year's Eve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This massive refinery near the bayou transforms crude oil into home heating oil and gasoline which ends up in the pump at the corner station. Oil companies face a tall order in dealing with Y2K: tons of machinery scattered across the country, and all of it has potentially faulty computer chips built in.

JUDITH CUNNINGHAM, BP AMOCO: The biggest challenge was trying to get our arms wrapped around what is it that we're really dealing with in terms of going from this black box fear, if you will, that the sky is going to fall into a rational mode of saying, "Wait a minute. It's just a step-by-step process," and it's really no different than any other information systems project that you would implement. The only difference is its magnitude.

KATAYAMA: Millions of microchips are embedded in everything from pipelines to oil rigs. A big refinery, such as BP Amoco's just outside New Orleans, might have half a dozen computerized systems all running at the same time. Each system contains hundreds of chips, and each chip contains tens of thousands of lines of computer code which must be replaced if they contain the millennium bug.

(on camera): This computer-automated system controls the production of gasoline, almost three million gallons a day. BP tested the system and found it was not year 2000 compliant. If left unfixed, this system would have automatically shut down gasoline production here at the turn of the century.

JOE GLENN, BP AMOCO ALLIANCE REFINERY: So what we had to do was go back to our manufacturer, the vendor that supplies us the equipment, and tell them and define and describe in all the ways possible what we saw, and they say, "OK. Yes. We are aware of that," and they would remanufacture new chips to put into the equipment, and it takes time to do that.

KATAYAMA (voice-over): BP also found that the computerized registers that verify customer credit and update inventory at its Amoco service stations were not Y2K compliant. So it replaced them with new terminals at its 2,500 stations nationwide last year.

Fortunately, the oil industry got a headstart. BP Amoco says it's in shipshape. It has almost completed remedial work on its most critical systems. Yet even it admits it may consider stockpiling some supplies in the event of a shutdown.

Fred Katayama, CNN Financial News, Bell Chase, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 23, 1999.


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