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Although off-the-book partnerships are “very commonplace” among U.S. corporations, a leading securities analyst said that what Enron Corp. did “was mutate [them] into something that was unrecognizable.”

Although off-the-book partnerships are “very commonplace” among U.S. corporations, a leading securities analyst said that what Enron Corp. did “was mutate [them] into something that was unrecognizable.”

Dominion said Thursday that it has completed the acquisition of Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp. (see Daily GPI, Sept. 11). “We’re very pleased with the quick pace of this transaction. It reflects the strong strategic fit and economic common sense this acquisition represents for Dominion,” said Thos. E. Capps, CEO. “We expect to integrate Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas operations quickly into our own exploration and production business and begin putting these assets to work for Dominion’s bottom line.” The closure follows Dominion’s announcement in September that it would acquire Louis Dreyfus for $2.3 billion in cash, stock and assumed debt. The company said the acquisition increases its proved reserves by more than 60%, to more than 4.6 Tcfe, and increases its production by more than 40%, to more than 450 Bcf annually. The addition of Louis Dreyfus also expands Dominion’s growing energy trading business. Dominion said the acquisition boosts its daily energy production capability to more than 3 trillion Btus. Over the next three years, the company said it expects the acquisition to help double its energy trading and sales volumes over 2000 levels. The company expects gas trading volumes to increase from 1.2 Tcf to 2.4 Tcf annually and electricity trading volumes to increase from 136 million MWh to 265 million MWh annually. Dominion reported that as part of the acquisition, Consolidated Natural Gas Co. (CNG), a subsidiary of Dominion, will guarantee the existing public debt of Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas. CNG’s senior unsecured debt is rated BBB+ by Standard & Poor’s and A3 by Moody’s.

Today’s regular FERC meeting, the first one over which Chairman Pat Wood III will preside, promises to be a very long and interesting one. In addition to the regular consent agenda items, the Commission has listed a number of administrative issues that will be discussed, including the adequacy of the energy infrastructure, an update on the pipeline capacity situation to and within California, “strategic and 2002 business plans,” as well as other items. (AD01-2, AD01-3, AD01-1).

Pacific Gas & Electric declared a systemwide Stage 3 high-inventory OFO for Saturday. The OFO had $5/Dth penalties for exceeding a very tight 1% tolerance for positive daily imbalances. Unlike the previous weekend, Southern California Gas did not have a corresponding Overnominations Day in place Saturday.

Pennsylvania faces the very real threat of being dethroned as the nation’s leading model for electricity choice because skyrocketing wholesale power prices are pushing state customers to abandon electric choice in favor of default providers, according to the Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets. As Pennsylvania stumbles on the road to electric deregulation, Texas, Maine and New York are all making impressive strides in promoting sustainable competition among electricity providers, the center said.

Following more than a nine-hour delay to the start of FERC meeting yesterday, a very divided Commission voted out a controversial market monitoring and mitigation plan that will attempt to tame wholesale power prices in the ailing California energy market over the next year.

The general market continued its downslide Wednesday, and traders saw very little chance of a near-term rebound, citing further screen softness, a storage injection report that significantly exceeded all prior expectations, and expectations that the out-of-season blasts of winter hitting much of the U.S. this week are about to go away.

Although no conclusions or commitments have been reached,Chevron is very actively pursuing studies leading to thedevelopment of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal ata still undetermined spot along the California coast to regasifythe equivalent of 500 MMcf/d of LNG from the Northwest Shelf offWestern Australia (see Daily GPI, March 20). Chevron is a one-sixthowner of the huge NW Shelf LNG Project involving 15 Tcf of gas nowbeing liquefied and shipped to markets in the Far East, and atwo-seventh partner in the not-yet-producing Gorgon Projectoffshore Western Australia.