Bill

Williams Energy Services has acquired full ownership ofVolunteer Energy Corp., increasing its stake from 50%.

New U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said two importantitems he would be pursuing in his visits last week to Venezuela andMexico would be the hemispheric integration of energy policy andthe possibility of a common electric grid. He added it is highlysignificant and symbolic that this first official call on foreigngovernments as Energy Department head will be to the two LatinAmerican nations most important to U.S. energy interests.

While Energy Secretary Bill Richardson was visiting Venezuelaand Mexico last week, DOE issued a list of 20 new appointments hehas made at the agency, which are in addition to the seven alreadyannounced in his six weeks on the job.

New U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said two importantitems he will be pursuing in his current visits to Venezuela andMexico will be the hemispheric integration of energy policy and thepossibility of a common electric grid. He added it is highlysignificant and symbolic that this first official call on foreigngovernments as Energy Department head will be to the two LatinAmerican nations most important to U.S. energy interests.

The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology has received aplum from a favorite son, new Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, whoannounced the award of a $1.5 million DOE contract to determine thebest way to boost gas production from some of New Mexico’s mostdifficult geologic formations.

Southern Company CEO A.W. “Bill” Dahlberg is something more thanshy about predicting where gas prices will go. But the industry’sembrace of gas-fired generation does prompt a modestly optimisticresponse to the question. “It would be logical to say that ifthere’s that much new demand for gas, the likelihood is that itwill drift up. And I guess if I were making the bet, that’sprobably the bet that I would make,” Dahlberg told reporters duringa briefing at the 17th Congress of the World Energy CouncilWednesday in Houston.

Bill Richardson was sworn in as the new energy secretary onTuesday, one day after Senate Energy Committee Chairman FrankMurkowski (R-AK) cleared him of allegations that he may have misledCongress when testifying during his confirmation hearing last monthabout a job offer he made to former White House intern Monica S.Lewinsky.

Senate Energy Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) onMonday cleared Energy Secretary in-waiting Bill Richardson ofallegations that he may have misled Congress when testifying duringhis confirmation hearing last month about a job offer he made toformer White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has approvedthe nomination of Bill Richardson, currently U.S. ambassador to theUnited Nations, to become the next secretary to the Department ofEnergy (DOE).