Scrutinized

The U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell, which is being scrutinized over its plans to explore for natural gas and oil offshore Alaska, pledged this week to deploy a prefabricated coffer dam ready for “immediate” use in the event of a well blowout and to launch a full-scale oil spill response within an hour.

In a move sure to be closely scrutinized by opposing state and federal regulators squabbling over jurisdiction, Houston-based ConocoPhillips and Mitsubishi’s Sound Energy Solutions (SES) announced late Monday that they signed a memorandum of understanding to work jointly on SES’s proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in the Port of Long Beach, CA.

In a move sure to be closely scrutinized by opposing state and federal regulators squabbling over jurisdiction, Houston-based ConocoPhillips and Mitsubishi’s Sound Energy Solutions (SES) announced late Monday that they signed a memorandum of understanding to work jointly on SES’s proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in the Port of Long Beach, CA.

As an example of just how far the Enron effect is carrying, one of the three Republicans opposing incumbent California Gov. Gray Davis in this year’s elections drew criticism Tuesday because a small Houston-based energy firm in which he invested has ties to one of Enron’s off-balance-sheet partnerships.

El Paso Corp.’s quick response to negative reports about its off-balance sheet transactions may have stopped its stock from sliding even further Tuesday, finally closing down almost 7% to $39.17. The stock had slid to almost $36 early in the day after rumors surfaced that the Houston-based company had conducted related-party deals similar to those conducted by bankrupt Enron Corp.