Debacle

Natural gas hedge fund Amaranth LLC, which exploded in a $6.4 billion debacle last year, has turned the tables and is suing J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for $1 billion for the bank’s alleged role in the fund’s demise.

Since the Enron debacle and the collapse of the energy merchant sector, the face of natural gas marketing in the U.S. has changed along with the way business is conducted, according to a panel of speakers at GasMart 2006 in Denver.

Embattled El Paso Corp. said last Tuesday it received waivers from lenders on its $3 billion revolving credit facility in order to deal with potential issues arising from the company’s major downward adjustment to its oil and natural gas reserves.

Embattled El Paso Corp. said Tuesday it received waivers from lenders on its $3 billion revolving credit facility in order to deal with potential issues arising from the company’s major downward adjustment to its oil and natural gas reserves.

In the wake of the Enron debacle, the mass exodus from the energy merchant segment that immediately followed has forced natural gas producers to once again throw their respective hats into the marketing arena to sell their own supplies.

In the wake of the Enron debacle, the mass exodus from the energy merchant segment that immediately followed has forced natural gas producers to once again throw their respective hats into the marketing arena to sell their own supplies.

California’s debacle followed by Enron’s scandal has cast a broad shadow over state and federal energy initiatives this year, according to former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA), speaking last Thursday at a two-day industry conference in Seattle, “Buying and Selling Power in the West.”

California’s debacle followed by Enron’s scandal has cast a broad shadow over state and federal energy initiatives this year, according to former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA), speaking Thursday at a two-day industry conference in Seattle, “Buying and Selling Power in the West.”

As the Enron debacle continues to unfold, energy companies, financial institutions and insurance firms are realizing exactly how exposed their respective companies actually are. Since the Dynegy-Enron Corp. merger was called off early last week, companies have been eager to distance themselves, as well as confess to investors their exposure levels related to the teetering giant.