Senior

Centrica is dangling a big carrot in front of liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers: its top market position in the U.S. and UK retail energy markets. Mike Hogan, senior vice president of upstream gas and power for Centrica subsidiary Direct Energy, said the company is actively seeking substantial new gas and power supply arrangements, including a stake in the LNG business, because of its rapid retail demand growth.

Centrica is dangling a big carrot in front of liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers: its top market position in the U.S. and UK retail energy markets. Mike Hogan, senior vice president of upstream gas and power for Centrica subsidiary Direct Energy, said the company is actively seeking substantial new gas and power supply arrangements, including a stake in the LNG business, because of its rapid retail demand growth.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) said it assigned a “B+” rating to the proposed $500 million senior unsecured notes and corporate credit of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal developer Cheniere Energy Inc. with a stable outlook. S&P analysts said the junk bond rating primarily reflects the risk and uncertainties of the company rather than the operations of its four proposed LNG projects.

Following a depressed 2004 earnings report earlier in the year, Bellevue, WA-based Puget Energy’s senior management Thursday issued somewhat modest earnings guidance for this year and next, in the $1.30/diluted share to $1.55/diluted share range. The company set an Internet-based webcast for 10 a.m. EST Friday in which the CEO and CFO will discuss the latest estimates (www.pse.com).

Senior management officials of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) “have approved in principle” a sales agreement and auction protocol to pave the way for the sale of the company’s 500- to 600-mile natural gas gathering network in northern California to individual producers on its system.

In a message aimed indirectly at California regulators, Sempra Energy senior officials told financial analysts Thursday that the current statewide natural gas market restructuring proceeding could end up lower costs for retail customers if the regulators opt for new transportation capacity from North Baja and the Rockies.

None of the senior executives ousted by Royal Dutch/Shell Group will receive annual bonuses for 2003, the company said in an annual report issued Friday. The company also will not pay bonuses to its current management team because production targets were not met last year.

A survey by global accounting firm Grant Thornton of 60 senior executives at mid-sized independent exploration and production (E&P) companies found that on average most expect Henry Hub natural gas prices to increase modestly over the next four years, moving from $4.44/Mcf in 2004 to $4.82 in 2007.

A survey by global accounting firm Grant Thornton of 60 senior executives at mid-sized independent exploration and production (E&P) companies found that on average most expect Henry Hub natural gas prices to increase modestly over the next four years, moving from $4.44/Mcf in 2004 to $4.82 in 2007.