![]() CPS Energy sued BP, Chevron, Energy Transfer and others for submitting bills that ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Macquarie was sued by Exxon seeking to void an $11 million gas bill. ![]() Many of the firms that profited from trading, such as Goldman Sachs and BofA, are also facing losses from their exposure to utilities and electric co-operatives that have declared bankruptcy, according to court filings.īofA made hundreds of millions via its trading arm, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, but it is owed nearly $480 million by Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, which filed for bankruptcy.ĭisputes over price gouging and reneged contracts have also emerged after some suppliers declared the freeze was a force majeure event that allowed them to suspend contracts. Texas's grid operator ERCOT canceled $1 billion in service charges and state officials are considering securitizing unpaid ERCOT bills from electric companies that defaulted. The company did not comment for this story. natural gas, said its trading around the storm boosted its overall profit outlook for the year by about 10%, which analysts estimated at about A$400 million ($317 million).Īhead of the storm, Macquarie traders researched how previous cold fronts disrupted infrastructure to prepare a plan, said sources within the firm, who requested anonymity. I've never seen price increases like we saw," said Tyson Slocum, an energy and environmental advisory committee member at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a director at Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization.Īustralia's Macquarie, the second-largest marketer of U.S. "I've been tracking natural gas markets for 20 years. San Antonio's municipal utility CPS Energy said its gas bill for the week was about $700 million. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the crisis. "That was very localized pain, and it really surprised a lot of people."Įnergy traders with three Texas electric cooperatives told Reuters they paid as much as $400 per mmBtu during a four-day stretch that began Valentine's Day weekend. "That's what happens when you go from a very well supplied market to a very tight market, and in this case a catastrophically tight market," said one natural gas trader. 11 into the hundreds of dollars, with Tulsa's hub surging to a record $1,192.86 on Feb. Anticipating high demand, Kinder Morgan said it dispatched workers and backup generators ahead of the storm to its gas storage and pipeline facilities.Īt the beginning of February, gas prices ranged from $2.50 to $3 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) at hubs from Houston to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Kinder Morgan, another gas storage and pipeline operator, earned about $1 billion during the storm, the vast majority from higher gas prices and sales. Rival Enterprise Products Partners said the storm led to gains of about $250 million in the first quarter. ![]() Other people familiar with its operations say that figure could be higher.Įnergy Transfer did not comment for this story. daily gas consumption in areas hit hardest by the February freeze, could report a $850 million profit from selling the fuel to utilities and industrial customers during the storm, according to analysts at East Daley Capital. BofA did not respond to a request for comment.Įnergy Transfer, which can store about 60% of U.S. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is reviewing gas and power markets for potential market manipulation. Utilities are complaining of price gouging and of unwarranted supply cancellations. The week-long output loss cost shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources $80 million, Chevron about $300 million, and Exxon Mobil $800 million. Losers include producers that could not deliver oil and gas due to frozen wellheads, gathering systems and processing stations. It is possible that some companies may never collect on those sales due to ongoing litigation, however. The firms combined stand to reap billions of dollars in profits by selling gas and power during the storm, according to interviews and reviews of public documents. The biggest winners were companies with access to supplies, including leading energy trader Vitol, gas suppliers Kinder Morgan, Enterprise Products Partners and Energy Transfer, and banks Goldman Sachs, Bank of America (BofA) and Macquarie Group. ![]() But a clearer picture is emerging from quarterly earnings and as utility companies smarting from big bills sue to recoup their losses. After the storm, few companies wanted to talk about their financial gains, unwilling to be seen as profiting off others' hardships. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |