If approved by the voters in November, California’s controversial Proposition 7 would require the state’s utilities to purchase 50 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2025. But it’s not easy (or cheap) being green. Critics’ estimates — often disputed — run as high as $11 billion per year in increased electric bills statewide. How power will be derived from...
Energy Industry Archive
September 2008
The Company: Holly Corp., an independent petroleum refiner. The Filing: Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 8, 2008. The Finding: Like most refineries, profitability at Holly depends on the spread between market prices for petroleum products (such as gasoline and diesel fuel) and crude oil prices. In the wake of Hurricane Ike, about 20 percent of U.S. refinery capacity has been idled...
The Company: Mariner Energy, an independent oil and gas explorer. The Filing: Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 11, 2008. The Finding: Mariner Energy is a case profile in the risk and rewards to be had by drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 280 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day (MMcfe/d), or 75 percent of daily production, comes from its offshore production....
The Company: Ener1, a maker of hybrid vehicle batteries. The Filing: Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 14, 2008. The Finding: In a recent letter to shareholders, Ener1 Chief Executive Charles Gassenheimer shared his view that each dollar of capital expended at its automotive battery subsidiary EnerDel would return between $4.00 and $6.00 in annual revenues. A significant claim- - as Ener1...
The Company: Canadian Natural Resources, an oil and natural gas producer based in Calgary, Alberta. The Filing: Form 6-K filed with the SEC on August 13, 2008. The Finding: Canadian Natural Resources is encountering testing and commission delays with the upgrading plant at its Horizon Oil Sands Project, located in Alberta. Open mining of the first oil sands is ready, but the scheduled...
The Company: Yingli Green Energy, a photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer. The Filing: Form 6-K filed with the SEC on August 6, 2008. The Finding: Yingli Green Energy forecasts shipment of between 270 megawatts to 280 megawatts of PV modules in 2008, representing an increase of 89 percent to 96 percent compared to 2007. Management’s outlook could prove too optimistic should the...
The Company: Range Resources, a natural gas exploration company operating in the United States. The Filing: Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 3, 2008. The Finding: Like its natural gas peers, Range Resources is facing production delays due to a shortage of pipeline capacity. The company said shut-in wells at the Marcellus Shale development in Appalachia are now expected to commence...
The Company: Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor. The Filing: Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 6, 2008. The Finding: Demand for offshore drilling units continues to be strong, particularly for floaters. In the second-quarter ended June 30, Transocean reported that average rates for its fleet of deepwater floaters increased 32 percent from last year, on...
The Company: Patriot Coal, the third largest producer of coal in the eastern United States. The Filing: Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 12, 2008. The Finding: Despite concerns in energy corners that slowing global economic growth could diminish demand — and pricing — for commodities, Patriot Coal remains optimistic on the market for thermal coal for 2009 and beyond. Chief...
The Company: Energy Conversion Devices, a provider of thin-film flexible solar laminate products for the building integrated and commercial rooftop markets. The Filing: Form 10-K filed with the SEC on August 28, 2008. The Finding: Energy Conversion Devices, which builds solar cells right into its roofing materials (UNI-SOLAR), is capitalizing on opportunities provided by feed-in-tariffs in the...
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