Aggressive

Aggressive regulatory reviews and the midterm elections dulled North American electricity and natural gas utility merger and acquisition (M&A) activity last year, and U.S.-based power utilities failed to complete any “big deal” transactions, according to corporate consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

A major natural gas utility group said Tuesday it plans to launch an “aggressive lobbying campaign” this year to win congressional support for stand-alone natural gas legislation aimed at expanding access to domestic supplies.

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Duke Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline signaled Wednesday it will be more aggressive this winter than in the past in monitoring its system to ensure customers don’t withdraw more than they put into the system.

Soaring gas prices prompted U.S. gas utilities to use more aggressive hedging strategies and sign longer term agreements ahead of winter last year to mitigate the impact of rising prices on consumers, according to a new report by the American Gas Association (AGA).

In tossing aside a major segment in its aggressive strategy to become the nation’s largest independent producer of gas-fired power generation, San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. raised questions about how it will fill the fuel gap for its 27,000 MW portfolio. A heavier reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports may be part of the company’s redesigned future, a Calpine spokesperson told NGI.

Mexico’s strategy to attract private energy companies appears to be working, especially for the oilfield services market, according to officials meeting last week at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.

Mexico’s strategy to attract private energy companies appears to be working, especially for the oilfield services market, according to officials at the Offshore Technology Conference, which opened Monday in Houston.

Continuing with its aggressive move into the power sector, the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. last Monday said that it has agreed to acquire 100% of the stock of Cogentrix Energy Inc., a privately-held independent power producer based in Charlotte, NC.

The “relentless, aggressive and malicious” environmental public relations machine is succeeding in delaying and restricting natural gas development in the Rocky Mountains “with no regard for the impact on the national gas supply” — and the situation is getting worse, not better.