Experience

Coasting a bit on the residual effects of the previous day’s futures run-up and continuing to experience heating load from the Northeast through the Midwest and Upper Plains, cash prices saw gains at most points in Tuesday’s strong launch of the October aftermarket.

Calling the last year a “near death experience,” TXU Chairman Erle Nye promised to keep liquidity high and work aggressively to strengthen the company’s balance sheet. He said the Dallas-based utility’s stabilizing operations and improved earnings outlook may allow it to raise its dividend within the next two years.

Calling the last year a “near death experience,” TXU Chairman Erle Nye promised to keep liquidity high and work aggressively to strengthen the company’s balance sheet. He said the Dallas-based utility’s stabilizing operations and improved earnings outlook may allow it to raise its dividend within the next two years.

Former Seagull Energy Corp. Chairman and CEO Barry J. Galt has joined Dynegy’s board of directors. “Barry’s proven leadership and experience in the energy industry and his reputation for integrity further strengthens the board during these challenging times in our business sector,” according to Otis Winters, lead director and chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committee. Galt will be named to the board’s Audit Committee and Compensation Committee. Galt led was Seagull Energy (now Ocean Energy Inc.) from 1983 to 1998.and currently is a director of Ocean. Prior to joining Seagull, he was president and COO of The Williams Companies. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School and the University of Oklahoma with a degree in accounting, Mr. Galt also serves on the boards of Friede Goldman Halter Inc., StanCorp Financial Group Inc. and Trinity Industries Inc. Dynegy’s board of directors now numbers 12, including two members representing ChevronTexaco, which will nominate a new director in the near future to replace Glenn Tilton, who resigned as interim chairman of Dynegy on Sept. 2 to become chairman of UAL Corp.

The post-Enron Corp. energy industry erosion of financial sector confidence will only be reversed by companies and the overall industry developing more standardized contracts and greater disclosure, according to speakers at a day-long Standard & Poor’s “Power and Energy Credit Conference” Wednesday in New York City. The rating agency’s speakers also said their ratings work will continue to be done on a company-by-company basis, so individual companies do not have to be tainted by the current industry torpor.

The natural gas market should experience a high degree of volatility over the next few years as reserves from older fields decline and new frontiers are slow to open up, according to Richard Sherrill, chief operating officer of Duke Energy North America (DENA). Delivering the keynote speech at GasMart/Power 2002 in Reno, NV, he estimated the volatility could continue for as much as 10 years, since it will take a significant amount of time to exploit and transport new supplies in the far north, or to build the extensive infrastructure required for increased LNG imports.

The natural gas market should experience a high degree of volatility over the next few years as reserves from older fields decline and new frontiers are slow to open up, according to Richard Sherrill, chief operating officer of Duke Energy North America (DENA). Delivering the keynote speech at GasMart/Power 2002 in Reno, he estimated the volatility could continue for as much as 10 years, since it will take a significant amount of time to exploit and transport new supplies in the far north, or to build the extensive infrastructure required for increased LNG imports.

Energy companies will have to cough up a total of $68 billion for new pipeline and storage facilities in North America over the next 14 years if they hope to cash in on the still-expected 30 Tcf U.S. market for natural gas by then, according to a new study commissioned by the INGAA Foundation. But higher capital costs in the wake of the Enron Corp. financial fiasco could delay some of the building.

Continuing to experience high linepack due to overproduction, low systemwide demand and limited storage injection capacity, Tennessee said it expects to keep the OFO Balancing Alert that took effect Saturday (see Daily GPI, Nov. 19) in place until at least next Monday.