Government

The United States “has probably peaked in gas supply,” Matthew R. Simmons of Houston-based Simmons & Co. International warned industry and government representatives Monday.

If the federal government opens up now restricted areas to drilling and offers incentives to drill more difficult plays, there are still prospects in the United States on and offshore for substantial natural gas exploration and production, according to several oil and gas executives, who spoke Monday at the Ziff Energy Conference in Houston.

If the federal government opens up now restricted areas to drilling and offers incentives to drill more difficult plays, there are still prospects in the United States on and offshore for substantial natural gas exploration and production, according to several oil and gas executives, who spoke Monday at the Ziff Energy Conference in Houston.

Dynegy Inc. has named Carol F. Graebner executive vice president and general counsel. She will be responsible for Dynegy’s legal, regulatory and government affairs activities, and will report directly to CEO Bruce A. Williamson. Graebner, 49, joins Dynegy from Duke Energy International. She also served as general counsel for Conoco Global Power Inc. Graebner replaces Kenneth E. Randolph, who is retiring after 18 years with Dynegy.

While praising its safety record and consistently high government ratings, President Bush wants tighter financial controls for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in place by Sept. 30 to reduce its burgeoning debt and improve its stature in the competitive electric marketplace.

While ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the Liberal government in Ottawa irritated Canadian natural gas producers, a quieter decision on another environmental front prevented a comparable annoyance from spreading. Environment Canada ruled that there is nothing special about the Deep Panuke gas development project that requires extra scrutiny even though it taps sour gas offshore of Nova Scotia.

While ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the Liberal government in Ottawa irritated Canadian natural gas producers, a quieter decision on another environmental front prevented a comparable annoyance from spreading. Environment Canada ruled that there is nothing special about the Deep Panuke gas development project that requires extra scrutiny even though it taps sour gas offshore of Nova Scotia.

Ontario Premier Ernie Eves’ controversial plan to cap electricity prices paid by residential and small business consumers at C4.3 cents through 2006 moved one step closer to becoming a reality last week after the province’s energy minister introduced a bill implementing the proposal.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) said that despite a four-month, court-ordered computer network shutdown, the government agency has distributed more than $318 million to 32 states during the first six months of 2002. Leading the pack for MMS distributions received so far this year was Wyoming with $164.7 million, New Mexico $88.5 million, Colorado $16.4 million and Utah with $11.1 million. The money represents the states’ cumulative share of revenues collected for mineral production on federal lands located within their borders and from federal offshore oil and gas tracts adjacent to their shores. “This year’s halfway total is less than last year’s record $656 million, but is close to the 2000 figure of $362 million,” said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. “The numbers largely reflect a recent decline in prices of crude oil and natural gas.”