Member

In a sign of the times, a descendant of a renowned Canadian native statesman has become the first aboriginal member of the National Energy Board. After eight years of battles that repeatedly slowed down Canada’s northern natural gas pipeline project and amid signs the conflicts are spreading, aboriginal relations are emerging as a government and industry priority. Strater Crowfoot — a former Siksika (Blackfoot) chief whose great-great grandfather, Chief Crowfoot, a Canadian counterpart to Sitting Bull in the American West, led high plains tribes of hunters and warriors to open southern Alberta for peaceful settlement by signing Treaty 7 in 1877 — joined the NEB this month.

Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) a senior member of the House Resources Committee, on Monday asked the head of the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) to explain why producers are being given greater royalty relief for natural gas produced from deep wells in shallow water than for wells drilled in the deep waters of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

An independent review of the oil and natural gas reserves booking system used by Stone Energy Corp. has triggered the resignation of board member and former CEO D. Peter Canty and directed management to request the resignations of an unnamed officer and senior manager associated with the reserve estimation process.

On a split vote and with a relatively large amount of discussion, the five-member California Public Utilities Commission, minus one of its commissioners, voted 3-1 Thursday to approve an expanded natural gas hedging program for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. The continuing concern over the impact of rising wholesale prices for natural gas in the wake of the two Gulf Coast hurricanes was a strong focus of both the action and discussion.

Facing natural retail price spikes exceeding 30% this winter, the five-member California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved an aggressive energy efficiency/conservation effort for the state’s four major private-sector energy utilities, carrying a price tag of nearly $2 billion over the next three years.

The nine-member Louisiana congressional delegation is expected to offer legislation later this week that would give Gulf Coast producing states a share of federal revenues from offshore oil and natural gas production to help with recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Pending approval by the five-member Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), a proposed decision by an administrative law judge (ALJ) could put about $160 back in the pockets of each of Peoples Gas’ customers. The ruling recommends that Peoples Gas refund customers $118.6 million for imprudent gas purchases and illegal profit sharing between Peoples’ parent company and an Enron affiliate in winter 2000-2001.

Although recusing himself from the initial energy agenda items, the newest member of the five-person California Pubic Utilities Commission (CPUC), John Bohn, was sworn into office Thursday and minutes later attended the CPUC’s regularly scheduled biweekly business meeting, which included a formal introduction by CPUC President Michael Peevey. Bohn, 67, a Harvard law graduate appointed last Monday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said he hopes to “give back a little bit to the state of California” in which he was born. Although having been sworn in 15 minutes ahead of the meeting, Bohn said he would “recuse” himself on all energy issues on the agenda, and “abstain on all matters other than the broadband report,” noting that was what he called “an appropriate way to proceed.” His nomination will require state Senate confirmation as will the appointment of Dian Grueneich, who was named in January to a spot on the commission. On a more somber note, Peevey announced the deaths of two former CPUC commissioners, one of whom, Don Vial, was a close personal friend of his who headed the CPUC in the 1980s, and most recently was one of the board members on the now disbanded California Power Authority that was created in mid-2001 in response to the state’s energy crisis at the time. In addition to Vial, 81, who died last Friday in San Rafaeil, CA, the state’s first female CPUC commissioner, Claire Dedrich, 74, passed away earlier in the month at her home in Sacramento. Vial was a labor economists, Dedrich, a Ph.D microbiologist.

Natural gas pipeline partnership Enterprise GP Holdings LP has filed to sell 14.875 million units in a bid to raise up to $394.5 million in an initial public offering (IPO). The limited partnership is the sole member of Enterprise Products GP LLC, which is the general partner of Enterprise Products Partners LP, which in turn is 100% owned by EPCO Inc. It would be traded under the ticker symbol “EPE” on the New York Stock Exchange. The 14.875 million units include 2.1 million units to be offered to EPCO for contribution to a partnership established to benefit certain employees of EPCO, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Based on the current distribution level and partners’ capitalization of Enterprise Products Partners, Enterprise GP Holdings said it plans to pay a quarterly dividend of 25 cents/unit, or $1.00/unit on an annualized basis. Enterprise GP Holdings said it will use the net proceeds from the IPO to repay $328.1 million of debt outstanding under its new credit facility to be entered into prior to the closing of the offering.