Execs

Royal Dutch/Shell Group has dropped its position that it acted in “good faith” with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following news that the former chairman may have known about the overbooking of oil and gas reserves as long as two years ago.

Priding itself on “delivering results, not promises,” San Diego-based Sempra Energy laid out a bullish outlook for both its cash-cow utility and merchant sectors, confident for the most part that it has the flexibility and financial strength to maintain a successful mix of utility, merchant energy, trading, international and energy services businesses, along with becoming a gatekeeper of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in North America.

As it sells off some of its lower-margin properties to focus attention on plays with more profit potential, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will spend more on finding and development (F&D) costs this year, executives said last week.

Priding itself on “delivering results, not promises,” San Diego-based Sempra Energy laid out a bullish outlook for both its cash-cow utility and merchant sectors, confident for the most part that it has the flexibility and financial strength to maintain a successful mix of utility, merchant energy, trading, international and energy services businesses, along with becoming a gatekeeper of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in North America.

As it sells off some of its lower-margin properties to focus attention on plays with more profit potential, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will spend more on finding and development (F&D) costs this year, executives said this week.

Setting aside court and regulatory appeals, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is marching ahead with plans to emerge from bankruptcy in the second quarter with a lower-rung investment-grade credit rating, executives assured financial analysts Thursday during a conference call on the parent company and utility earnings for 2003.

Setting aside court and regulatory appeals, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is marching ahead with plans to emerge from bankruptcy in the second quarter with a lower-rung investment-grade credit rating, executives assured financial analysts Thursday during a conference call on the parent company and utility earnings for 2003.

North American exploration and production (E&P) executives now have confidence in sustained higher commodity prices this year, which may lead to larger capital spending increases from those publicly announced as well as more mergers and acquisitions (M&A), according to a report by Raymond James & Associates.

A panel of top utility executives agreed Thursday that the U.S. power industry is less risky than it was five years ago, but still unsure which direction the market is headed because of the conflicting signals from regulators, customers and forecasts. Edison International’s CEO meanwhile offered a dire outlook for California, suggesting that the state is only in the calm before another huge storm.