South Jersey Gas (SJG), which serves more than 322,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout New Jersey, on Thursday filed a petition with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to decrease its gas supply service rate effective Oct. 1. On average, residential bills would decrease 3.8% or about $6.48/month. “We know the unusually high cost of energy last winter presented a challenge to many of our customers,” said CEO Edward J. Graham. “Since last winter natural gas prices have gradually decreased, and our filing is based on projections that natural gas prices will be lower during the upcoming winter than they were last year. In addition, we’re aggressively seeking opportunities to reduce gas costs by restructuring our gas supply portfolio, while continuing to provide high quality gas service,” Graham added.

Vinson & Elkins LLP will pay Enron Corp. $30 million in cash and waive its $3.9 million in claims against the Enron Corp. bankruptcy estate as part of a settlement agreement announced Thursday. The settlement remains subject to the approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Nexen Inc. said subsidiary Nexen Energy Marketing Europe Limited (NEME) completed the acquisition of Foundation Energy Limited, a privately held power and gas marketing company based in the United Kingdom. Foundation has an experienced team of marketers, traders and support personnel and Nexen said the operation is poised for future growth in the European marketplace. It will change its name to Nexen Energy Marketing London Limited. NEME was formed in 2005 following Nexen’s acquisition of Buzzard and other UK North Sea assets in 2004. It is responsible for marketing all of the crude oil, gas and liquid products from Nexen’s North Sea assets and will be managing total North Sea volumes of 100,000 boe/d following the start-up of the Buzzard field later this year. The acquisition of Foundation Energy will compliment NEME’s existing marketing activities by enabling it to offer a wider range of energy marketing services to customers in both the UK and continental Europe.

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