Initial

Bankrupt Enron Corp. has had 25 parties showing initial interest in Portland General Electric (PGE), the Oregon-based utility that the Houston energy firm purchased in 1998, and the company expects to make a decision at year-end or early in January on whether to sell or keep PGE as part of a newly created energy company after Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy proceedings, according to a presentation Wednesday to the Oregon Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

Initial work was completed early this month on Transco’s McMullen Lateral in South Texas in conjunction with a state highway widening project (see Daily GPI, Sept. 19), but additional maintenance will be required Wednesday and Thursday. All flows upstream of Milepost 47.866 on the lateral will be shut in at that time, affecting about 35 MMcf/d. See the bulletin board for a list of affected points.

With an initial investigation of several special purpose entities (SPEs) used by Enron Corp. completed, the court-appointed examiner now will carefully scrutinize “a number of significant questions” about the complex off-balance-sheet transactions, including what role they played in the company’s collapse, whether they were illegally used to manipulate financial statements, and if the SPEs were illegal, whether the officers, directors or professionals involved may be liable.

With an initial investigation of several special purpose entities (SPEs) used by Enron Corp. completed, the court-appointed examiner now will carefully scrutinize “a number of significant questions” about the complex off-balance-sheet transactions, including what role they played in the company’s collapse, whether they were illegally used to manipulate financial statements, and if the SPEs were illegal, whether the officers, directors or professionals involved may be liable.

Dallas-based Wiser Oil Co. has ramped up initial natural gas production at its Wild River operations in Alberta, and said that combined gross production rates are averaging 14-15 MMcf/d. The company estimates that gross production on balance will average 9-10 MMcf/d for the rest of this year.

FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis L. Wagner said Tuesday he expects to issue an initial decision by the end of August in a long-standing complaint case brought by California regulators, accusing El Paso Natural Gas of withholding transportation capacity from customers during the 2000-2001 heating season in an attempt to drive up prices for natural gas delivered to the Southern California border.

A year past the initial stigma of its utility affiliate’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, PG&E National Energy Group (NEG) is focused on streamlining its portfolio of new energy projects and hanging on to its investment-grade credit ratings, a senior PG&E executive said last week in a conference call with the financial community. On an operating basis both the NEG nonutility businesses and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility showed lower earnings than the same period in 2001.

Phillips Petroleum Co. and Conoco have named the initial members of the ConocoPhillips global management team that will take office after the completion of their proposed merger of equals that was announced last November (see Daily GPI, Nov. 20, 2001). As previously reported, James J. Mulva, currently chairman and CEO of Phillips, will become president and CEO of ConocoPhillips. Robert E. McKee III will become executive vice president, exploration and production (E&P). He currently is executive vice president, E&P, for Conoco, a position he has held since 1996. Jim W. Nokes will become executive vice president, refining, marketing, supply and transportation (RMS&T). He currently is executive vice president, RMS&T, for Conoco. John A. Carrig will become executive vice president, finance, and CFO. He currently is senior vice president and CFO for Phillips. John E. Lowe will become executive vice president, planning and strategic transactions. He currently is senior vice president, corporate strategy and development, for Phillips. Rick A. Harrington will become senior vice president, legal, and general counsel. He currently is senior vice president, legal, and general counsel for Conoco. All five will report directly to Mulva. “The selection process was difficult, given the proven leadership of the top executives of both companies,” said Conoco Chairman and CEO Archie W. Dunham, who will serve as chairman of ConocoPhillips. The companies said that special meetings of stockholders of both Phillips and Conoco have been called for March 12, when a final vote on the merger will be tallied. The merger also remains subject to receipt of necessary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2002.

Although the nation needs to await the completion of a “full autopsy” on Enron Corp., an initial analysis using public financial documents shows that the Houston energy trading giant was marked by “income that seldom matched its cash flows,” according to Portland, OR-based energy economist Robert McCullough, speaking Friday to an industry conference in Seattle, WA.