2007

A month from a key bankruptcy court hearing on its reorganization plan for leaving Chapter 11 at year-end, San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. last Tuesday said an independent analysis has lowered by $900 million its projected value if it leaves bankruptcy protection Dec. 31. The initial Wall Street reaction was negative.

FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher said Friday the agency is more interested in the energy industry complying with its rules and requirements than in collecting penalties, but this was not enough to allay the concerns of industry. Energy attorneys and industry representatives urged FERC to be more forbearing and patient as companies strive to comply with hundreds of rules, with some going as far as to suggest that FERC create an amnesty program for those who self-report their violations.

A report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) finds that language in a House bill pending in Congress would require producers to pay billions of dollars in royalties on oil and natural gas production from leases issued between 1996 and 2000, regardless of the final outcome of a lawsuit brought by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. challenging the right of the federal government to recover royalties on those leases.

A district court judge in Houston has ruled that the federal government may proceed with its attempt to seize about $13 million in cash and assets from the estate of Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay, who died last year (see NGI, July 10, 2006).

Of the 64 investigations that FERC’s enforcement staff completed in the past two years, more than 70% (47 cases) were closed without any sanctions being imposed on energy companies, the agency’s Office of Enforcement (OE) said in a report issued Wednesday.

A report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) finds that language in a House bill pending in Congress would require producers to pay billions of dollars in royalties on oil and natural gas production from leases issued between 1996 and 2000, regardless of the final outcome of a lawsuit brought by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. challenging the right of the federal government to recover royalties on those leases.

EnCana Corp. has buoyed the hopes of Nova Scotia’s offshore oil and natural gas industry by designating a Swiss company to build and operate its planned Deep Panuke mobile offshore production unit.

Between 1996 and 2006, the number of compressor stations on the nation’s interstate pipeline grid increased 14.7%, resulting in a 26% increase in installed horsepower. All that new muscle was not the result of a supply push or a demand pull but rather a combination of factors, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

El Paso Corp.’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. will acquire the majority of Columbia Gulf Transmission’s interest in offshore Louisiana assets that the two companies co-own in the Gulf of Mexico, NiSource Inc. unit Columbia Gulf said. Once consummated the deal would end “all pending litigation between the companies.”