John

The Senate late Thursday confirmed by voice vote the nominations of Tony Clark and John Norris to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Adam Sieminski to head the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

If natural gas prices were to fall to $1, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, according to EnerVest Ltd. CEO John Walker. In fact, low prices may be the industry’s “greatest savior,” he said last week at Bentek Energy’s Benposium in Houston.

If natural gas prices were to fall to $1, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, according to EnerVest Ltd. CEO John Walker. In fact, low prices may be the industry’s “greatest savior,” he said Wednesday at Bentek Energy’s Benposium in Houston.

If natural gas prices were to fall to $1, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, according to EnerVest Ltd. CEO John Walker. In fact, low prices may be the industry’s “greatest savior,” he said Wednesday at Bentek Energy’s Benposium in Houston.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is expected to sign a new bill (HB12-1315) that was passed Wednesday by the state Senate to create a renamed and refocused governor’s energy unit. The Colorado Office of Energy Development would emphasize both traditional and renewable energy resources.

Former Enron Corp. energy trader John Arnold is closing down his flagship Centaurus Energy Master Hedge Fund, which is returning capital to investors. Arnold, a billionaire more than three times over, and his wife Laura will be focusing on philanthropic interests. Houston-based Centaurus has been one of the most successful hedge funds in the industry, delivering a compound annual return of about 130% since it was founded by Arnold in 2002 after the collapse of Enron. In Wall Street circles Arnold has been known to some as the “king of natural gas.” He and his wife will be considered royalty among philanthropists, running a $700 million foundation they founded in 2008. According to Forbes, Arnold has a personal fortune of about $3 billion as of March, putting him at No. 377 on the magazine’s list of billionaires. “In the past ten years, we have achieved more success than I could have hoped for or imagined. However, after 17 years as an energy trader, I feel that it’s time to pursue other interests,” the 38-year-old Arnold wrote to investors in a letter obtained by NGI. A Centaurus representative said there would be no comment on Arnold’s departure from the energy trading scene. A trading star at Enron, Arnold cut a large profile in hedge fund circles after his employer’s collapse. However, since the heady days of high volatility in gas markets, things have calmed quite a bit. An abundance of gas supply, thanks to shale plays, and tighter regulations on commodity speculation have made the trading game less of a thrill for Arnold and his kind. In 2011 the fund was fined $75,000 by the New York Mercantile Exchange for violating position limits in natural gas trading (see NGI, Jan. 2). Arnold founded Centaurus with an $8 million employee bonus from Enron. Centaurus employees have included several big name energy traders such as ex-Enron executive Greg Whalley, as well as Bill Perkins, Mike Magg and Conrad Goerl, previously of MotherRock.

Former Enron Corp. energy trader John Arnold is closing down his flagship Centaurus Energy Master Hedge Fund.

Legislators in the Ohio House of Representatives have passed a mid-biennium budget review bill but stripped out Gov. John Kasich’s proposals to restructure taxes and regulations on the oil and natural gas industry.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) issued separate permits to Patriot Water Treatment LLC and the City of Warren on Monday, barring the latter from accepting pre-treated wastewater from oil and natural gas drilling starting April 1.