Statement

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal released a statement on Friday declaring the proposed Islander East pipeline project officially dead even before the Commerce Department issues its final decision on the project. Blumenthal said that the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) denial of a water quality certification essentially prevents the Army Corps of Engineers from issuing a dredging permit to Islander East.

With few clues as to what the holdup could be, FPL Group Inc. and Entergy Corp. said Monday in a joint statement that “certain issues have arisen in connection with their pending merger,” and that they would meet in the “near future” to address the problems. The merger, announced last July (see Daily GPI, Aug. 1, 2000), was scheduled to close this fall.

Dynegy Inc. apparently is attempting to negotiate a settlement of an investigation of its accounting practices by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Sources told the Journal that lawyers for Dynegy have been discussing a resolution with the SEC, but it was not clear how much progress had been made, or whether Dynegy also was attempting to resolve a criminal inquiry by the Department of Justice.

Dynegy Inc. has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning a proposed underwritten initial public offering of 8.8 million common units in Dynegy Energy Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership that has been formed to own and operate a portion of Dynegy’s large natural gas liquids business.

Backing off from a statement he made in June that the oil and gas industry should be fined unless they used more local companies in offshore multi-billion projects, Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm said last week that he would only agree to a system of fines if the energy industry ended its usual practice of giving contracts to local companies. Speaking at a natural gas conference in Halifax, Hamm said he wanted to instead focus on the positive aspects of the industry.

Backing off from a statement he made in June that the oil and gas industry should be fined unless they used more local companies in offshore multi-billion projects, Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm said this week that he would only agree to a system of fines if the energy industry ended its usual practice of giving contracts to local companies. Speaking at a natural gas conference in Halifax, Hamm said he wanted to instead focus on the positive aspects of the industry.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service has scheduled public hearings on its draft environmental impact statement that covers delineation drilling proposed for undeveloped leases offshore Santa Barbara County, CA. The draft EIS evaluates impacts of proposed drilling on four undeveloped Outer Continental Shelf units.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service has scheduled public hearings on its draft environmental impact statement that covers delineation drilling proposed for undeveloped leases offshore Santa Barbara County, CA. The draft EIS evaluates impacts of proposed drilling on four undeveloped Outer Continental Shelf units.

With few clues as to what the holdup could be, FPL Group Inc. and Entergy Corp. said last week in a joint statement that “certain issues have arisen in connection with their pending merger,” and that they would meet in the “near future” to address the problems. The merger, announced last July (see NGI, Aug. 7, 2000), was scheduled to close this fall.