Corporate

Energy Book Review: ‘Private Empire – ExxonMobil and American Power’

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ExxonMobil is the world’s largest international oil company by virtually all operational and financial metrics and Steve Coll’s book offers a fascinating look at the inner workings of this secretive corporate colossus.

A vestige of John D Rockefeller Senior’s Standard Oil, which famously avoided speaking to the press for much of its existence, ExxonMobil is known within the industry for its operational expertise, rigorous financial discipline, project management skills and tight-lipped nature. Coll’s extensive research and unprecedented access to individuals within and outside the company with first-hand knowledge of transformative events is what makes the book stand out. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 28, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Sempra Profits Higher, Gas Export Terminal Promise Cited

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Sempra Energy reported a slightly higher fourth-quarter profit Tuesday and said its proposed Louisiana gas-export terminal would boost future growth and profits. Sempra predicted a 2013 adjusted profit of between $4.30 and $4.80 a share, compared with $4.35 a share in 2012 and analysts’ estimates of $4.41 a share. The company’s 2012 profit using generally accepted accounting principles was $3.48 a share. Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/02/26/sempra-energy-posts-higher-4th-quarter-profit-plans-gas-export-plant/#ixzz2MCVvVZ7i

 /  Published February 28, 2013 at 8:35 AM

Google, GE Join Forces in Energy Sector Mapping Tool

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The mobile internet revolution has been driven by customers rather than companies, with the most innovative work being done for consumers who often then turn around to companies and ask why they can’t use the same tools at work.

Now – thanks to Google and GE – they can. The two companies have launched a partnership for the utility business that leverages the combination of Google’s customer-facing approach with its ease of use and intuitive maps functions with the deep sector knowledge of GE. Customers accessing GE’s information on energy assets can now load that data on top of Google’s maps functions rather than requiring separate custom-built technology with accompanying training hurdles and potential bugs or mismatches. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 27, 2013 at 9:00 AM

Chesapeake’s JV Deal with Sinopec ‘Looks a Little Light’

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Analysts mostly agree that Chesapeake Energy received a relatively low price for the Mississippi Lime acreage it agreed to sell to China’s Sinopec for $1.02 billion. What is less clear though, is whether the price Chesapeake received reflects the company’s position as a distressed seller, or the quality of the assets sold. The Mississippi Lime is a shale play extending from northern Oklahoma into central Kansas.

“From my perspective, the proceeds looked a bit light on a per acre basis as well as per barrel of oil equivalent on a proved reserve basis,” Phil Weiss, Senior Analyst covering energy for Argus Research recently told Breaking Energy in an email. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 26, 2013 at 1:00 PM

IBM on US Energy Cybersecurity: Keep Calm and Carry On

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For years predictions of the horror show that could happen if the nation’s electricity grid was compromised by hackers proliferated in inverse correlation to the number of attacks; the sector went about its peaceful way, adding security as it added increased interconnectivity and meeting standards that left service reliability levels intact.

That “quiet war” in cyberspace is over. The US energy sector is under attack, and there isn’t any indication the situation is going to improve. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 26, 2013 at 10:20 AM

Tepco’s US LNG Agreement: Small Volumes, Big Deal

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Japan’s recent deal to import US LNG at Henry Hub benchmark prices appears largely symbolic, but is important for the sector as it could represent the beginning of a larger trend away from oil-linked LNG prices for the world’s largest LNG importer.

“They [the deal’s negotiators] were very surprised they were able to pull it off,” a source familiar with the negotiations recently told Breaking Energy. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 19, 2013 at 8:30 AM

Energy News Roundup: President’s Day Weekend Edition

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California has traditionally thought of itself as the leader in US environmental policy; where the state goes, the nation follows. If that’s the case, the next round of clean energy policy promises to be no more decisive or conclusive than the last ten years of lawsuits and countersuits. A 2006 law passed by voters in California’s infamous bottom-up system of interactive democracy requires renewable energy investments by the state’s utilities, but current lawmakers are backpedaling on widely acknowledged goals, according to recent coverage by the Associated Press as featured on the San Francisco Chronicle. Read more about that here, and read some of AOL’s in depth insight on the issue here.

The rise of the energy workforce has been a broader story in the slow economic recovery of the past few years, as demand for qualified workers in oil and gas fields alongside related sectors has proved a unusual bright spot for jobs. The Houston Chronicle notes that the trend has filtered even into internships; while interns in other sectors often go unpaid, energy company interns can early properly grown-up salaries. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 15, 2013 at 4:30 PM

Continued Strong Growth for Energy Mergers and Acquisitions in Q4

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Generally driven by a bump in generation asset and renewables transactions, mergers and acquisitions more than doubled in the fourth quarter of 2012 over the same period in 2011 for a whopping 116% increase, according to the PwC U.S. quarterly report North American Power Deals: Q4 2012.

Here are some takeaways from the report: Keep reading →

 /  Published February 15, 2013 at 3:00 PM

Natural Gas Exports: ‘Whats the Rush?’ Asks Dow

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The debate over natural gas exports from the US has broken out of the energy sector and begun to raise temperatures across the political spectrum, with a high profile Congressional hearing this week underlining the stakes at play in a Department of Energy policy decision on the economic standing of natural gas export projects.

Despite being painted as absolutely opposed to exports of domestically produced natural gas and its position as a leader in the manufacturing sector’s opposition to unrestricted approval of export projects, Dow Chemical actually favors exports to free trade partners but is concerned about the impacts of unchecked exports to non free trade countries, the company’s Vice President for Government and Public Affairs Kevin Kolevar told Breaking Energy in a recent briefing. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 6, 2013 at 9:00 AM

Tax Breaks: Where The Big Money Is

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If Congress and President Obama are ever going to get serious about tax reform, they will have to rethink some of the biggest and most popular tax breaks. It won’t be easy. Those tax breaks mostly benefit powerful voting blocs: the middle-class and the wealthy. The federal government gives up $1 trillion in revenue every year because of the hundreds of tax credits, deductions, exemptions and exclusions in the tax code. And the top 10 account for most of that $1 trillion. (Table of Top 10 below.)

 /  Published February 5, 2013 at 11:00 AM
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