Corporations

Serious Canadian energy investment and equally focused environmental interests are warily eyeing each other in and around the Uinta Basin in southeastern Utah, where energy developers see an extension of their oil sands plays in Western Canada, and a group called Living Rivers warns of a potential environmental and public health disaster.

Business Roundtable, an association of 150 CEOs of some of the largest U.S. corporations, has unveiled a comprehensive energy plan calling for a more diversified and domestic-based energy supply mix, increased energy efficiency and more investment in new technology. Among other things, the CEOs want expanded access to oil and natural gas supplies in the Rocky Mountains, the U.S. coasts and Alaska, as well as increased nuclear power supplies.

Business Roundtable, an association of 150 CEOs of some of the largest U.S. corporations, on Wednesday unveiled a comprehensive energy plan calling for a more diversified and domestic-based energy supply mix, increased energy efficiency and more investment in new technology. Among other things, the CEOs want expanded access to oil and natural gas supplies in the Rocky Mountains, the U.S. coasts and Alaska, as well as increased nuclear power supplies.

Major corporations, led by ExxonMobil, GE, and Schlumberger are underwriting a multi-million dollar program, collaborating with Stanford University in an unprecedented initiative to develop global energy systems with low greenhouse gas emissions.

Armed with “preliminary evidence” of manipulation of prices for short-term electric and natural gas markets in western markets, FERC launched formal investigations last week into the potentially illegal pricing activities of three Enron Corp. affiliates — Portland General Electric, Enron Power Marketing and Enron Capital and Trade Resources Corp. — and El Paso Electric, Avista Corp. and marketing affiliate Avista Energy to determine the extent of any wrongdoing and the type of disciplinary actions warranted.

Amid a heightened state of alert, executives from 11 major oil and natural gas corporations met last Thursday outside of Washington, DC, to form an information sharing and analysis center (ISAC) to address industry- and company-specific security risks and threats.

Amid a heightened state of alert, executives from 11 major oil and natural gas corporations will meet Thursday outside of Washington, DC, to form what will be known as an information sharing and analysis center (ISAC) to address industry- and company-specific security risks and threats.

Mexico’s Comision Reguladora de Energia (CRE) said several international corporations are planning liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Mexico, and the CRE has formed a work group to identify necessary regulatory changes to grant permits and facilitate the development of the LNG plants. The country is expecting a 9% annual increase in gas demand, and LNG supply is expected to help meet some of that growth, CRE said in a statement. The probable sites for the LNG facilities include Altamira in Tamaulipas and Ensenada in Baja California. “The characteristics of each project are different and must be evaluated in order to identify the advantages that each of them pose to cover the growing demand of natural gas, demand fostered by a plan to develop electricity generating plants and projects of transport and distribution approved by the CRE.”

Plans to separate Baltimore Gas & Electric’s parent Constellation Energy Group into two publicly traded corporations remain on track for completion this year, Christian Poindexter, the company’s CEO, told shareholders at the end of last week.