Quarters

Chevron Corp. has launched a capital and exploration program of $22.8 billion for 2009, which closely mirrors the spending levels of a year ago. Three-quarters of the spending is slated for the upstream, including several prospects in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the major said Thursday.

Nearly three-quarters of American homeowners are concerned that home energy costs will strain their finances over the next year, according to a survey conducted by Impulse Research for MXenergy Inc. The research also found that only 30% have come to understand how home energy prices are set, and 90% feel they have limited or no control over energy costs.

Nearly three-quarters of American homeowners are concerned that home energy costs will strain their finances over the next year, according to a survey conducted by Impulse Research for MXenergy Inc. The research also found that only 30% have come to understand how home energy prices are set, and 90% feel they have limited or no control over energy costs.

Citing costs that will not affect future quarters, PG&E Corp. Wednesday reported decreased earnings for the second quarter and six-month year-to-date periods. Consolidated second quarter net income in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) was $232 million, or 65 cents/share, compared with $267 million, or 70 cents/share, for the same period in 2005. (All the per-share numbers are on a diluted basis, the utility holding company said.)

Reiterating what its senior executives have been saying in recent quarters, Sempra Energy officials Thursday said the marketplace is not giving the company enough credit for the results it has achieved, particularly in the energy trading sector. Therefore, sale of any of its major business units, including Sempra Commodities, is unlikely to occur before 2008 when some of the company’s major liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline/storage projects begin providing new revenue streams.

When you can lock in nearly three-quarters of your production at $9.43/MMBtu, that’s a pretty good deal, particularly when a mere three years ago you hedged 39% of your production at an average of $4.33/Mcf. Chesapeake Energy Corp. over the past month increased its hedge position, locking in an average Nymex price of $9.49/MMBtu for 721 Bcf of natural gas production over the next three years.

Although maligned and defined in various quarters by its “alphabet soup” approach to energy acronyms and detailed action plans, California needs to expand its return to comprehensive energy planning with something called “DRP,” dynamic resource planning, according to the chairman of the California Energy Commission (CEC), Joseph Desmond, speaking Monday at the opening session of the three-day national conference of the American Public Power Association (APPA) in Anaheim, CA.

Dominion Resources Inc. will need to sustain its recent strong performance for “at least a few quarters” before investors become comfortable with the inherent risks in its new system, which includes plans to build up its exploration and production (E&P) business, Merrill Lynch analysts said in a report last week.

Dominion Resources Inc. will need to sustain its recent strong performance for “at least a few quarters” before investors become comfortable with the inherent risks in its new system, which includes plans to build up its exploration and production (E&P) business, Merrill Lynch analysts said in a report Wednesday.