Pays

Duke Energy announced a stock-based compensation package for its new CEO, Paul M. Anderson, and said it lined up a buyer, Norsk Hydro Energy B.V., for its Dutch gas marketing business. The sale, which is expected to net Duke about $80 million, is subject to approval by the European Commission.

Duke Energy announced a compensation package for its new CEO, Paul M. Anderson, and said it lined up a buyer, Norsk Hydro Energy B.V., for its Dutch gas marketing business. The sale, which is expected to net Duke about $80 million, is subject to approval by the European Commission.

The collapse of the merchant energy sector isn’t over and numerous assets will continue to be put up for sale. The question for a private equity fund entering this energy smorgasbord is whether to dine first on the meat-and-potatoes regulated operations or to go straight for the attractive but far more risky unregulated merchant power dessert.

The CFTC agreed last week to settle attemtped gas market manipulation charges with a sixth energy company, Duke Energy Trading and Marketing LLC (DETM). DETM agreed to pay $28 million to settle charges that providing energy trade publications with false prices and volumes from natural gas transactions.

Duke Energy Trading and Marketing LLC (DETM) has agreed to pay $28 million to settle charges filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that DETM attempted to manipulate the natural gas market by providing energy trade publications with false prices and volumes from natural gas transactions. By settling, DETM neither admitted nor denied the charges.

The collapse of the merchant energy sector isn’t over and numerous assets will continue to be put up for sale. The question for a private equity fund entering this energy smorgasbord is whether to dine first on the meat-and-potatoes regulated operations or to go straight for the attractive but far more risky unregulated merchant power dessert.

EnCana Corp.’s former U.S.-based energy trading division, WD Energy Services Inc., formerly known as PanCanadian Energy Services, has agreed to pay $20 million to settle charges by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that it intentionally reported false natural gas prices to industry trade publications in an attempt to manipulate the price of natural gas contracts.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. revealed that it was the mystery buyer late last month of $300 million in Midcontinent gas reserves from Oneok Inc. subsidiary Oneok Resources (see NGI, Dec. 2). Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake said the purchase included 200 Bcfe of proved gas reserves, 60 Bcfe of probable and possible gas reserves and current gas production of 47,000 Mcfe/d. The company added that it expects the transaction to close on Jan. 31, 2003.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. revealed that it was the mystery buyer late last month of $300 million in Midcontinent gas reserves from Oneok Inc. subsidiary Oneok Resources (see Daily GPI, Nov. 26). Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake said the purchase included 200 Bcfe of proved gas reserves, 60 Bcfe of probable and possible gas reserves and current gas production of 47,000 Mcfe/d. The company said it expects the transaction to close on Jan. 31, 2003.