Shifts

With new tax laws in its favor, Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) announced Wednesday it will move away from an earnings per share policy and focus instead on shareholder dividends. As part of its new policy, KMI plans to increase its quarterly dividend to 40 cents a share, or $1.60 annually, up 167% from its current 15 cents (60 cents a year).

Switching its focus slightly from exploration to development drilling, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said last week that 2003 and 2004 are going to be exciting times for the company as past exploration efforts finally come to fruition. Holding an all-day webcast for analysts Thursday, the company said that in addition to shifting focus to the development side of the business, the company also is realigning resources to concentrate on its U.S. onshore plays.

Switching its focus slightly from exploration to development drilling, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said Thursday that 2003 and 2004 are going to be exciting times for the company as past exploration efforts finally come to fruition. Holding an all-day webcast for analysts, the company said that in addition to shifting focus to the development side of the business, the company also is realigning resources to concentrate on its U.S. onshore plays.

A ten-year snapshot of California’s natural gas future could re-touched or rendered out of focus in the months ahead, depending on more current residential/commercial demand data and whether or not the state’s sagging economy rebounds, according to one of the principal authors of the California Energy Commission’s (CEC’s) last staff gas assessment.

A ten-year snapshot of California’s natural gas future could re-touched or rendered out of focus in the months ahead, depending on more current residential/commercial demand data and whether or not the state’s sagging economy rebounds, according to one of the principal authors of the California Energy Commission’s (CEC’s) last staff gas assessment.

Within days after Enron Corp. filed the largest bankruptcy in history, the focus of the seemingly never-ending financial nightmare shifted last week from the company’s headquarters in Houston, TX, and Wall Street to the political epicenter in Washington DC, with lawmakers on Capitol Hill quickly scheduling hearings to find out “how this happened” and the Department of Labor opening an investigation into the possible mishandling of retirement funds of Enron employees. This action comes on top of the ongoing investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the embattled energy trader.

Leading Senate Democrats yesterday introduced two major bills -one addresses supply and demand policy shifts, while the otherproposes a mix of tax incentives – to tackle the escalatingproblems in the nation’s energy sectors.

The current high cost of energy, particularly natural gas, andthe continuing energy crisis in California prompted President BushMonday to retract an earlier promise to press for restrictions incarbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power generation. Curbing CO2emissions would boost demand for natural gas at the expense ofother dirtier fuels, particularly coal and oil.

State-backed financial bailout options for California’s twocash-strapped utilities were being looked at Friday by the statelegislature and treasurer, including public takeover of the stategrid, as Gov. Gray Davis prepared to divulge his plan today priorto making another trip to Washington, D.C., in search of a federalcap on western wholesale electricity prices later this week.