Bonuses

Thousands of landowners in New York state, who have received notice that their leases with gas companies are being unilaterally extended, have been given an added bonus: a French lesson.

The Louisiana Mineral and Energy Board’s monthly lease sale in August collected more than $3.7 million in bonuses, bringing the fiscal year total to more than $8.3 million.

The Interior Department announced last Monday the first distribution of more than $25 million in bonuses and rents on energy leases in Gulf of Mexico federal waters to coastal states and communities.

The Interior Department Monday announced the first distribution of more than $25 million in bonuses and rents on energy leases in Gulf of Mexico federal waters to coastal states and communities.

Americans are fuming about retention bonuses paid to executives at bailed-out American International Group; they’re sore from the stock market crash, and they still remember sky-high gasoline and home-heating costs of not so long ago. In other words, “the people are not happy,” a Washington, DC, lawyer told energy traders in Houston last Thursday before letting them in on the “craziness that’s going on in Washington with respect to your business.”

Americans are fuming about retention bonuses paid to executives at bailed-out American International Group; they’re sore from the stock market crash, and they still remember sky-high gasoline and home-heating costs of not so long ago. In other words, “the people are not happy,” a Washington, DC, lawyer told energy traders in Houston Thursday before letting them in on the “craziness that’s going on in Washington with respect to your business.”

The senior executive bonuses for this year are gone, some of the long-term executive incentives have been eliminated, capital spending has been reduced even more, and up to $2 billion more in assets will be sold. As El Paso Corp.’s chairman noted, the interstate pipeline leader is not reacting, but rather responding to what shareholders and the marketplace now demand. “We are doing what management is supposed to do,” explained CEO William Wise on Thursday. “We are all sharing the pain.”

The senior executive bonuses for this year are gone, some of the long-term executive incentives have been eliminated, capital spending has been reduced even more, and up to $2 billion more in assets will be sold. As El Paso Corp.’s chairman noted, the interstate pipeline leader is not reacting, but rather responding to what shareholders and the marketplace now demand. “We are doing what management is supposed to do,” explained CEO William Wise on Thursday. “We are all sharing the pain.”

El Paso Natural Gas may have gotten the industry’s largest Christmas bonus last week. Its announcement two weeks ago that it recontracted all of its California-bound capacity for $37.5 million was a bit premature and a little understated. As it turned out, Enron North America Corp. upped the ante last week for 1.25 Bcf/d of firm transportation capacity on the pipeline by $8 million following a four-day open season.