Underpinning

Two of six deepwater leases underpinning the potentially large Gulf of Mexico discovery that was announced by Chevron Corp., Devon Energy Corp. and Statoil ASA last week (see Daily GPI, Sept. 6) do not include price thresholds, which would make a certain volume of production from these leases royalty-free despite the high energy prices, a Minerals Management Service (MMS) official confirmed Tuesday.

Culminating a week of progress in pulling together the financing underpinning of its exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Friday announced that it intends to offer $6.7 billion in first mortgage bonds to help pay credit claims in its $12 billion utility bankruptcy. This followed announcement earlier in the week that the utility secured $2.9 billion in credit facility commitments and authorization from California state regulators for its new financial structure.

Culminating a week of progress in pulling together the financing underpinning of its exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Friday announced it intends to offer $6.7 billion in first mortgage bonds to help pay credit claims in its $12 billion utility bankruptcy, the largest in U. S. history. This followed announcement earlier in the week that the utility secured $2.9 billion in credit facility commitments and authorization from California state regulators for its new financial structure.