2002

Gas storage is a strategic asset for any energy portfolio, more critical than it has ever been, as the volatile power market becomes one of the gas industry’ fastest growing customer bases, a panel of natural gas, power and pipeline executives said Wednesday. Speaking at Ziff Energy Group’s North American Gas Storage Conference in Houston, panelists said that despite the current economic downturn and low commodity prices, natural gas storage has become a critical component for all facets of the energy delivery business.

Mark-to-market accounting for long-term transactions presents company management “with a temptation to be overly aggressive that is too great for them to ignore,” a leading short seller, credited with spotting Enron’s problems early on, told a congressional committee Wednesday.

Gas storage is a strategic asset for any energy portfolio, more critical than it has ever been, as the volatile power market becomes one of the gas industries’ fastest growing customer bases, a panel of natural gas, power and pipeline executives said Wednesday. Speaking at Ziff Energy Group’s North American Gas Storage Conference in Houston, panelists said that despite the current economic downturn and low commodity prices, natural gas storage has become a critical component for all facets of the energy delivery business.

Aquila said last week it plans to target its energy risk management expertise at the ailing fertilizer industry, which has suffered tremendously over the past two years from volatile natural gas prices. Natural gas can account for up to 80% of a fertilizer product’s costs. The company also purchased the proposed Red Lake Storage Project in Arizona from Southwest Gas Corp. last week for an undisclosed sum.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, said it will file the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC within the next few weeks, challenging the decision of Bush and Cheney to withhold the documents on the grounds that it would encroach on the authority of the executive branch. This marks the first time the GAO will bring legal action against the executive branch to compel production of information and records.

A San Diego congressman, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), said Wednesday that he has written the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking for a rehearing of the commission’s earlier decision to approve the North Baja natural gas pipeline. Filner said new electric generation plants that the pipe is designed to serve on the Mexican side of the international border will substantially increase air pollution.

The grilling of Arthur Andersen employees at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing last Thursday provided more drama than new facts. It was a lot like the courtroom scene in the movie A Few Good Men. Instead of Tom Cruise asking Jack Nicholson “Did you order a Code Red?” subcommittee Chairman Jim Greenwood (R-PA) barked at David Duncan, the former Arthur Andersen partner in charge of Enron auditing, “Did you give an order to destroy [the Enron] documents?”

A resolution calling on British Petroleum (BP) to assess the risks of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on the producer’s stock will be voted on by shareholders at its annual meeting in April. Similar resolutions have been filed to be placed on the ballots at ChevronTexaco’s and ExxonMobil’s annual meetings, while preliminary discussions are under way with Phillips Petroleum.

After a long review of the bankruptcy of retail marketer Iroquois Energy Management in 2000, New York energy regulators have approved new financial requirements for retail gas and power marketers who offer prepayment plans or require deposits from customers. The requirements are designed to strengthen consumer protections in New York’s competitive energy markets.