The new owner of Commerce Energy, Toronto-based Universal Energy Group (UEG), is bullish on competitive retail energy in California and other states in which Commerce continues to operate, according to UEG’s Shawn Dym, senior vice president for business development. UEG plans to continue operating under the Commerce name in the United States.
2008
Articles from 2008
RBS Sempra-Abu Dhabi Partners Seek Treasury Review
Thorny issues of foreign ownership of U.S. energy infrastructure assets could arise in the recently announced partnership of RBS Sempra Commodities and the Abu Dhabi national energy Company, TAQA, which is seeking a stake of up to 10,000 MW in U.S. generating assets. An RBS Sempra executive told NGI last Monday the partners recognized the issue loomed and have filed with a multi-agency committee headed by the U.S. Treasury Department for a review of the partnership’s first deal, which was announced Dec. 10.
Futures Trickle Lower But Rebound Could Be in Sight
Front-month natural gas futures continued to hover around its five-and-a-half-dollar purgatory on Wednesday as the bears appear to be running out of road while the bulls lack the fuel for a sustained push higher. January natural gas on the day appeared to make a run at the upside with a $5.850 high and the downside with a $5.486 low before closing at $5.619, down 13.2 cents from Tuesday.
Bears Still Behind the Wheel as Futures Settle Near Low
Finishing off a week that saw front-month natural gas futures put in a new low for the downward move of the last five months, bearish traders kept their foot on the gas pedal on Friday as the January contract continued to put pressure on support levels.
Palomar Gas Files to Build Northwest Pipeline
Palomar Gas Transmission LLC, a joint venture of TransCanada Corp. and Northwest Natural Gas Co., Thursday filed an application at FERC to build a natural gas transmission pipeline to move Rocky Mountain gas into markets in the Willamette Valley of northwest Oregon and the West Coast’s I-5 corridor.
Exchanges Call for Mandated Clearing of Credit Default Swaps
U.S. and European exchange officials last Monday said they supported Congress issuing a mandate for central clearing of credit default swaps (CDS), a form of insurance against the default of debt securities, which have contributed to much of the tumult in the credit markets. U.S. exchanges say they are ready or near ready to proceed with clearing of certain CDS transactions to increase transparency and limit counterparty risk.
Three’s No Charm: Raymond James Cuts U.S. Rig Forecast Again
Raymond James & Associates Inc. last week once again cut its projected U.S. rig count, predicting a reduction of 41%, or 850, for 2009. However, even if 800 rigs are laid down, gas production shut-ins are likely next summer, analysts said.
RBS Sempra Partners with Abu Dhabi Energy Unit
Eyeing a long-term power market play, RBS Sempra Commodities and Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) Wednesday announced the creation of a global partnership, TAQA Gen X, and its first downstream joint venture in North America.
Message to New Congress, Administration: ‘Do No Harm’
The oil and natural gas industry’s wish list for the new Congress, Obama administration and the New Year is very short — “do no harm,” say industry representatives in Washington, DC. They indicated that their “wants and expectations” will be more moderate due the changing of the guard at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
NorthWestern Ordered to Pay $450,000 for Shipper-Title Breach
FERC has approved a stipulation and consent agreement requiring NorthWestern Corp. and its subsidiary NorthWestern Services LLC (NWS) to pay a civil penalty of $450,000 for self-reported violations of the shipper-must-have-title (SMHT) requirement and to submit semiannual compliance monitoring reports for one year.