Streamline

Joining the current push in the utility industry to streamline its meter reading operations, Portland, OR-based Northwest Natural Gas Co. began Monday installing 60,000 of roughly a quarter-of-a-million customers with smart metering devices allowing meter-reading employees to collect data remotely from their vehicles while driving by customers’ premises. It’s a $3.8 million initial phase to a utilitywide program that eventually will outfit all of the utility’s gas meters with the cell-phone size devices.

In an effort to pay down debt, streamline operations and benefit from the advantageous tax regime in the United Kingdom, Kerr-McGee Corp. sold all of its North Sea assets, including 231 million boe of proved reserves, Monday for US$3.5 billion in cash, the assumption of $182 million in abandonment obligations and another $175 million in derivative liabilities.

In an effort to provide greater accountability and streamline corporate governance since its reserves reduction scandal earlier this year, Royal Dutch/Shell last Thursday announced that it will merge its two holding companies, The Hague-based Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which owns 60% of the company, and London-based Shell Transport & Trading Co. Ltd., which holds 40% of the company.

In an effort to provide greater accountability and streamline corporate governance since its reserves reduction scandal earlier this year, Royal Dutch/Shell on Thursday announced that it will merge its two holding companies, The Hague-based Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which owns 60% of the company, and London-based Shell Transport & Trading Co. Ltd., which holds 40% of the company.

In an effort to provide greater accountability and streamline corporate governance since its reserves reduction scandal earlier this year, Royal Dutch/Shell on Thursday announced that it will merge its two holding companies, The Hague-based Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which owns 60% of the company, and London-based Shell Transport & Trading Co. Ltd., which holds 40% of the company.

In hindsight, said Enron Chairman and CEO Kenneth L. Lay, the company made some “very bad investments in its non-core businesses,” and as a result, the fourth quarter earnings will reflect that. However, Lay emphasized during an investor update conference call that “everything we know, you know.” Enron is expected to update guidance on its fourth quarter earnings in the next few weeks, but going forward, Lay said merger-bound Enron will go “back to basics” and focus on the core assets that had propelled the Houston-based company into the Fortune 100.

Due to the increased natural gas demand in the country sparked by new gas-fired generation coming online, the United States is experiencing the largest wave of pipeline infrastructure expansion since the early 1960’s , according to a recent advisory from Industrial Information Resources Inc. (IIR). The consultant group said it expects 25,000 miles of gas transmission pipeline will be constructed by 2010 and an additional 13,000 miles by 2015, with estimates ranging up to 275,000 miles or more of distribution pipelines.

Legislation unveiled last Tuesday on Capitol Hill would ensure that combined heat and power (CHP) systems are allowed to interconnect nationwide with the electricity grid, while also reducing energy costs and harnessing power that would otherwise be wasted.

Legislation unveiled yesterday on Capitol Hill would ensure that combined heat and power (CHP) systems are allowed to interconnect nationwide with the electricity grid, while also reducing energy costs and harnessing power that would otherwise be wasted.