History

Noting that the company has “a rich history” in technological research and development in the recovery of conventional resources, ConocoPhillips is dedicating $150 million in 2008 to the development of nonconventional oil and gas resources and the development of new energy sources, such as renewables, said CEO Jim Mulva.

ExxonMobil Corp. posted the highest quarterly results in U.S. history Friday, but neither Exxon nor second-largest U.S. producer Chevron Corp. managed to boost their oil and natural gas production levels in the final three months of the year.

ExxonMobil Corp. posted the highest quarterly results in U.S. history Friday, but neither Exxon nor second-largest U.S. producer Chevron Corp. managed to boost their oil and natural gas production levels in the final three months of the year.

In a decision that approved and denied parts of two settlements with a six-year history, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) last Thursday issued a series of changes for the natural gas utility operations in the southern half of the state. The most significant is the merger of gas-buying operations by Sempra Energy’s two utilities — Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. (SDG&E).

In a decision that approves and denies parts of two settlements with a six-year history, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Thursday approved a series of changes in the natural gas utility operations in the southern half of the state. The most significant is the merger of gas-buying operations by Sempra Energy’s two utilities — Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. (SDG&E).

EnerVest Management Partners Ltd. has closed the largest private equity fund in its 15-year history with equity commitments of $1.02 billion. EnerVest Energy Institutional Fund XI LP will be used to acquire upstream oil and gas properties and companies in North America.

Seven months after Amaranth was caught on the wrong side of the natural gas market with devastating effect, history has been repeated, although on a smaller scale, as the Bank of Montreal reported Friday that it has lost between C$350 million and C$450 million (US$313.70 million to US$403.33 million) in similar wrong-way trades in natural gas, specifically “out-of-the-money options.” The bank also warned investors that more related losses could be coming, but that they would be “substantially lower” than the losses announced Friday.

Seven months after Amaranth was caught on the wrong side of the natural gas market with devastating effect, history has been repeated, although on a smaller scale, as the Bank of Montreal reported Friday that it has lost between C$350 million and C$450 million (US$313.70 million to US$403.33 million) in similar wrong-way trades in natural gas, specifically “out-of-the-money options.” The bank also warned investors that more related losses could be coming, but that they would be “substantially lower” than the losses announced Friday.

Drawing a close to an earlier chapter in the utility holding company’s almost decade-long history, San Diego-based Sempra Energy last week confirmed it has found a buyer, Great Falls, MT-based Energy West Inc., for its two small, start-up natural gas distribution utilities in the East — in Bangor, Maine, and North Carolina. Collectively, the two utilities have slightly more than 1,000 customers.