Actions

High energy prices and strategic actions initiated since 1997have added $1.25 per share in recurring earnings annually forOccidental Petroleum and allowed the company to pay down asignificant amount of debt this year, said CEO Ray R. Irani at thecompany’s meeting last week with financial analysts in New York.But its stock price remains in the basement at about $20/share wellbelow that of many of its peers.

High energy prices and strategic actions initiated since 1997have added $1.25 per share in recurring earnings annually forOccidental Petroleum and allowed the company to pay down asignificant amount of debt this year, said CEO Ray R. Irani at thecompany’s meeting yesterday with financial analysts in New York.But its stock price remains in the basement at about $20/share wellbelow that of many of its peers.

Regardless of who wins this week’s presidential election, SanDiego-based Sempra Energy advocates an expanded national energypolicy and development of sufficient pipeline upgrades to ensurethat the nation’s gas infrastructure can support all of the newnatural gas-fired electric generating plants that are underconstruction or in development throughout the nation.

Texas gas-fired generation and distributed generation stand togain from recent actions by the state’s Public Utility Commission.Commission staff has proposed a natural gas energy credits (NGEC)trading program with the goal of ensuring that at least 50% of allnew generating capacity, except that powered by renewabletechnologies, be gas-fired after Jan. 1. The proposal does notinclude modifications to generation facilities that merely increaseefficiency of currently installed equipment.

The move by Houston Industries (HI) last week to reconfigure itsbusiness to meet the demands of gas and power convergence followsrecent actions to build up its power generation division. HI formedHouston Industries Wholesale Energy Group to combine its powergeneration, gas transportation, and wholesale energy trading andmarketing capabilities of the company.

Another class action suit was filed against Triton Energy onbehalf of shareholders alleging the company misrepresented thevalue of its assets and prospects for the company. The most recentsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District ofTexas on behalf of those who acquired common stock on or betweenMarch 30 and July 17, says statements by the company and certainexecutives drove its stock price up during the class period.