Reviewing

Marathon Oil Corp.’s CEO said this week that the company is cautiously reviewing what parts of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain offer the most value, and for now, will concentrate on producing natural gas and increasing its LNG regasification capabilities in the United States.

Former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay is under the microscope by federal investigators to determine whether there are grounds to bring criminal charges against him, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay is under the microscope by federal investigators to determine whether there are grounds to bring criminal charges against him, according to the Wall Street Journal.

FERC’s Office of Market Oversight and Investigations (OMOI) is reviewing the progress by the industry in responding to energy price index initiatives, and by early 2004, a progress report is expected to be issued, that, among other things, could include the names of companies that fail to report data to industry publishers.

The court-appointed examiner reviewing Enron Corp. has concluded that the former trading firm engineered its financials with the use of special purpose entities (SPEs) and accounting techniques so that its published statements “diverged materially from Enron’s actual economic condition and performance.” The SPEs, said Neal Batson, apparently accounted for 96% of Enron’s $979 million in net income for 2000, and allowed it to report debt of only $10.2 billion instead of $22.1 billion.

Canada’s newly-appointed natural resources minister is considering ending a ban against drilling in one of the nation’s most environmentally-sensitive spots, the Queen Charlotte Islands area offshore of British Columbia. Herb Dhaliwal pledged to keep an open mind — and hinted at adopting an encouraging attitude towards industry expansion in British Columbia — after an introductory meeting in Calgary with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Dhaliwal said he will be “very interested” to see the forthcoming report of a review panel that has been reconsidering Canada’s 30-year-old West Coast drilling moratorium since last summer.

Add the U.S. Treasury to the long list of institutions launching investigations in the wake of Enron Corp.’s collapse. U.S. regulations that protect investors are being reviewed by the department, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill said Sunday. O’Neill, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said “it is not clear whether the company fulfilled all of its obligations under the existing rules,” regarding rules that allowed Enron’s management to sell stock while its employees were barred from doing the same thing.

Crystal Gas Storage Inc. of Shreveport, LA, is reviewing itsoptions, including the possible sale of the company. Theindependent gas storage company hired Goldman, Sachs & Co. toassist with the strategic review and said no transactions arepending. The company said there would be no more announcementsunless and until a deal comes about or the effort is scrapped.Crystal Gas Storage owns and operates, through wholly ownedsubsidiaries, two storage facilities near Hattiesburg, MS, andholds various interests in gas properties, primarily in Arkansasand Louisiana.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. of Los Angeles is reviewing itsinvestment in Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. and consideringall options, the company said. Oxy’s investment in CanadianOxy ofCalgary dates back to 1971, and Occidental currently owns 40.2million shares, or about 29%, of the company’s outstanding commonshares.