After rejecting a sale of the entire company to Electricite de France (EDF) in October in favor of a deal with MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., the Constellation Energy board said it is willing to talk with the French company about its proposal to acquire Constellation nuclear assets. Constellation’s board has authorized discussions and an exchange of information with EDF related to an unsolicited proposal received from EDF on Dec. 2. Constellation said the decision to talk with EDF is consistent with its merger agreement with MidAmerican. The Constellation board has not changed its recommendation that shareholders vote in favor of the merger with MidAmerican. A special meeting for a vote remains scheduled for Dec. 23. EDF’s proposal provides for an up-front $1 billion cash investment in Constellation to be credited against the purchase price for EDF’s interest in the nuclear generation business, and an option under which Constellation could sell nonnuclear generation assets to EDF that have an aggregate value of up to $2 billion. The joint venture would run five of Constellation’s nuclear reactors, including the two at Nine Mile Point and the one at the Robert E. Ginna plant in New York, and the two at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland. Constellation and EDF are already in a 50-50 joint venture that was created in the summer of 2007 called UniStar Nuclear Energy LLC to develop new nuclear reactors in the U.S. using Areva SA’s Evolutionary Power Reactor design.
October
Articles from October
Investigators: EnCana Was Target of Dawson Creek Pipeline Bombings
EnCana Corp., which endured minor explosions along its natural gas pipeline near Dawson Creek, BC, three times in October, was probably targeted by a local person with a grievance against the company, according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigators.
Investigators: EnCana Was Target of Dawson Creek Pipeline Bombings
EnCana Corp., which endured minor explosions along its natural gas pipeline near Dawson Creek, BC, three times in October, was probably targeted by a local person with a grievance against the company, according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigators.
Transportation Notes
CIG lifted Tuesday an Operational Warning it had issued in early October due to high load factors and limited storage injection capacity. CIG also noted in early November that the Operational Warning was still in effect (see Daily GPI, Nov. 4).
‘Ike the Spike’ Keeps Futures Bears at Bay
Concerns related to Hurricane Ike’s path combined with fairly strong support to push natural gas futures higher to end the week. October natural gas on Friday closed at $7.449, up 12.7 cents from Thursday but 49.4 cents lower than the previous week’s close.
Futures Test $7 as Gustav Lacked Gulf-Busting Gusto
As it became more evident Wednesday that Hurricane Gustav left the energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico intact (see related story), October natural gas futures continued to press the downside, coming within a couple of pennies of breaking below $7. The prompt-month contract recorded a low of $7.028 before rebounding to close out Wednesday’s regular session at $7.264, up less than a penny from Tuesday’s finish.
Wyatt Sentenced to One Year in Federal Prison
Legendary Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt, 83, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty in October to paying illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s energy regime in exchange for oil contracts in 2001 (see Daily GPI, Oct. 2). Wyatt had faced up to 24 months in prison.
EOG Bullish on Gas — No Thanks to Rockies
EOG Resources Inc.’s natural gas production inched up slightly in 3Q2007, but no thanks to the Rocky Mountains. In September and October the independent curtailed 50-140 MMcf/d net volumes “on any given day in the Rockies,” and EOG plans to shut in those same amounts through the first half of November, CEO Mark Papa said last week.
EOG Bullish on Gas — No Thanks to Rockies
EOG Resources Inc.’s natural gas production was up slightly in 3Q2007, but no thanks to the Rocky Mountains. In September and October the producer curtailed 50-140 MMcf/d net volumes “on any given day in the Rockies,” and EOG plans to shut in those same amounts through the first half of November, CEO Mark Papa said Tuesday.
Natural Gas Can Help Solve Carbon Crisis, Researchers Say
Three-year-old research by two Princeton University professors given new life in the climate change-focused October issue of National Geographic Magazine (NGM) gives hope that with a technology explosion in the next 50 years, the world can start getting its arms around the global climate change conundrum. And part of the answer may lie in replacing most of the current coal-fired electric generation with a combination of natural gas and carbon sequestration.
