|
|
|
Energy Services
|
Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc. has provided services to the energy industry
since the company was founded in 1974. Since the early 1980s, EEA's energy practice has focused on evolving energy
issues in the U.S., Canada and overseas. EEA's unique strength is the ability of the staff to combine expert knowledge
of market behavior and regulatory issues with strong technical and analytical skills.
Energy Market Forecasting And Analysis
EEA is widely known as an industry leader in North American energy market forecasting and analysis.
Since the early 1980s, we have performed a broad range of economic and technical analyses covering all aspects
of the natural gas industry. EEA's modeling capabilities led to our selection by the National Petroleum Council
as the lead contractor for their landmark natural gas studies in 1992 and 1999. Our clients include majors, independents,
pipelines, and local distribution companies, as well as government agencies and research organizations. EEA has
prepared the Gas Research Institute's annual Baseline forecast of North American energy supply and demand since
the 1980s. Underlying these studies is the most advanced available model of North America's resource base and gas
transportation system. Recently, we launched a new series of products based on our Gas Market Data and Forecasting
System - a proprietary gas market model. Please read about these products under
Products for the North American Gas Market.
Utility Business Planning
In A Deregulating Environment
EEA senior staff have, in recent years, provided support to clients grappling with the rapidly
deregulating business environments in the natural gas and electric utility industries. We have advised on such
strategic business issues as unbundling of services, comparing expected performance under a market environment
vs. continued regulation, whether to spin off activities to non-jurisdictional entities. EEA also has advised clients
on how to propose modifications to the regulatory environment which will support changing business objectives and
address traditional concerns of regulators. In support of these business planning and related regulatory activities,
EEA staff provides analytical support on the expected impact of alternative business options, evaluating potential
investment options and presenting alternatives to regulators. EEA also has been involved in supply planning and
marketing for its natural gas utility clients. In the area of supply planning, EEA has helped to develop the expected
market environment for utility supply decisions, compared alternative supply options, and assisted in developing
software and tracking systems in support of both short- and longer-term supply decision-making and monitoring activities.
In marketing support EEA has provided analyses to identify competitive advantages for utility services, created
and analyzed customer data bases, and assessed opportunities for new technologies in the marketplace.
Oil And Gas Supply/Resource Assessment
EEA provides North American oil and gas resource assessments, databases and supply analyses to
support upstream business planning. Information includes historical exploration find-rates, field size distributions,
drilling success rates, development costs and undiscovered resources. Gas well recovery and productivity trends
are also evaluated. Onshore reservoirs are evaluated by drilling depth interval and the offshore is evaluated by
water depth. Coalbed methane and other non-conventional gas production can be evaluated separately. Frontier regions
including the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and western Canada have been extensively characterized. The database and
economic analysis are used in conjunction with EEA's market models to help the client develop improved upstream
strategies. EEA developed and maintains the Hydrocarbon Supply Model, which is used for resource base assessments
and supply forecasts for the United States and Canada. EEA also developed the Gas Information System
(GASIS), a detailed geologic and engineering database of U.S. natural gas
reservoirs. Another EEA product is GRI's Gas Resource Database, a CD-ROM database of detailed
non-conventional gas supply and gas composition data at the formation level.
Management Information Systems (MIS)
And Other Software Products
EEA is well known for combining its substantive knowledge of energy markets with staff systems
analysis and computer skills to develop MIS and other software products. EEA either uses these products on specific
projects or leases the software to be operated by our clients. MIS activities include developing oil and gas contract
management systems, linking production facilities with contract provisions to develop an operational gas purchasing
/dispatching system for pipelines, developing price forecasts and financial liability tracking (e.g., take or pay)
for projected production for pipelines and producers, modifying invoicing systems, and developing an industrial
customer monitoring system for a gas LDC. EEA also has developed and licensed forecast models and databases such
as our national and regional energy price forecasting model, our Hydrocarbon Supply Model, pipeline models, energy
demand models, and oil and gas field and basin level databases.
Other Business Analyses In Energy Markets
EEA has conducted a variety of other types of market studies for clients in the energy industry.
For example, we provided analysis of markets, expected prices and key contract provisions for an international
LNG project consortium. We have provided assessments of pipelines and natural gas distributors as potential takeover
targets including such factors as special competitive strengths, stability and growth prospects of their customer
markets, potential liabilities from supply agreements and the regulatory environment. For an electric utility,
we helped evaluate alternative sites for locating a new power plant by considering means of access and likely costs
of fuel to each potential site and how costs would vary with the fuel firing capability of the plant.
Regulatory Support
EEA staff have provided regulatory support to clients in both FERC and state proceedings, including
regulatory strategy, providing expert testimony and analytical support. This support includes helping clients develop
their approach to regulatory authorities such as how best to sell a new facility project, developing major policy
guidelines for generic proceedings on project evaluation criteria, and what approach to take with respect to issues
such as Integrated Least Cost Planning. EEA also has developed many innovative models and other analysis tools
to assist clients in presenting arguments before regulators. For example, we have modeled pipeline expansion projects
to emphasize the benefits of later expansion projects even when the proposed looping section appears uneconomic
and have used our energy models to estimate the benefits of natural gas price reductions from facility expansion
projects. EEA has participated in and provided expert testimony for pipeline fraud and abuse cases, rate cases
(on such varied issues as price elasticity of demand, supply planning and demand side management activities), leave
to construct cases for new pipeline and storage investments, generic proceedings on Integrated Resource Planning,
and generic hearings on guidelines used to evaluate the costs and benefits of utility investment projects.
Litigation Support
EEA staff have provided litigation support activities for civil cases and arbitration. Support
activities have involved developing case strategy and settlement agreements, interpreting contract terms, estimating
damages, reviewing and coding documents, and preparing expert opinion on technical matters. Cases have involved
such varied issues as disputes regarding natural gas contract pricing provisions, pipeline affiliated company bias,
reasonableness of business decisions in context of energy market circumstances, bank financing of oil and gas drilling
activities, contract damages for cogeneration facilities, oil pricing disputes, pipeline bankruptcy, measurement
of parasitic loads, and PURPA efficiency calculations.
|
|
