Awaited

Former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay canceled his much-awaited appearances before Senate and House subcommittees this week in the wake of a blistering internal company report that said Lay, as well as other senior management officials, the board of directors and the company’s outside auditor, contributed to the financial collapse of the once-powerful energy trader last fall. Both congressional panels are now considering issuing subpoenas for Lay to testify at a later date.

The long-awaited energy legislation introduced by Senate Democrats Wednesday offers a huge financial carrot to the company or companies that are first in line to build a long-line natural gas pipeline to deliver more than 30 Tcf from Alaska’s North Slope to the continental United States.

The long-awaited energy legislation introduced by Senate Democrats last Wednesday offers a huge financial carrot to the company or group of companies that is first in line to build a long-line natural gas pipeline to deliver more than 30 Tcf from Alaska’s North Slope to the continental United States.

Financial analysts and El Paso Corp. executives greeted the long-awaited decision by FERC Chief ALJ Curtis Wagner Jr. last week in the high-profile big rigging and price manipulation case as extremely positive for El Paso, even though the judge didn’t completely exonerate the company.

In his much-awaited initial decision, FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. ruled Tuesday that El Paso Natural Gas engaged in “blatant collusion” by rigging the bidding process for a large block of transportation capacity on its system to favor its merchant-power affiliate. However, he recommended dismissal of the charge that El Paso Merchant Energy Co. illegally exercised market power to drive up prices for natural gas delivered to southern California beginning in mid-2000.

Executives with NiSource Inc. can start breathing easier now as it appears that their company’s hard-fought and much-delayed merger with Columbia Energy Group last November (see NGI, Nov. 6, 2000) is beginning to show its benefits. CEO Gary L. Neale told shareholders at NiSource’s annual meeting last Wednesday that the merger remains on track to add to the company’s earnings in 2001.

Executives with NiSource Inc. can start breathing easier now as it appears that their company’s hard-fought and much-delayed merger with Columbia Energy Group last November (see Daily GPI, Nov. 1, 2000) is beginning to show its benefits. CEO Gary L. Neale told shareholders at NiSource’s annual meeting on Wednesday that the merger remains on track to add to the company’s earnings in 2001.

While Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) awaited the go-ahead from the White House to move forward on a “package” of proposals to aid California energy markets last week, California Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill registered their strong objections to Barton’s decision to exclude price controls on wholesale electricity transactions from consideration.

Upon completion of its much awaited drilling operations at itsdeepwater exploration well on the Dana Point prospect in the Gulfof Mexico, Unocal Corp. announced that its $36 million investmentin the $51 million well drilling project produced nothing but a dryhole.