Enron Was a Big Energy

ENRON was a big energy company in the U.S. that attempted to transform itself into the largest energy trader in the world. It rose as high as the seventh largest company in the U.S. In terms of stock value, which was believed to be due to the dynamism and political connection of its Chairman Kenneth Lay. Its share prices nose-dived when it became apparent that the company had been hiding losses by forming shell companies. Quite a few of its executives reaped large benefits by disposing their stock options for cash when the share prices were high. The employees were the losers as they put all their pension money in Enron shares and lost it all when the firm went bankrupt. (ENRON: Who's who?)

Enron was the largest trader of natural gas in the U.S. In 1999 its revenues were $40 billion make it the eighteenth biggest company in the U.S. The business activities of Enron were not restricted to the U.S. alone, but rather were spread all around the world and included activities in countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, China India, Indonesia, Mozambique and the Philippines. Enron also diversified its product range and expanded on to the Internet trading in a wide range of products from pulp and paper to petrochemicals and plastics. It also traded in esoteric products such as clean air credits that are made use of in utilities to keep within emission limits. (Meet Enron, Bush's Biggest Contributor)

Enron came into existence by the merger of Houston Natural gas Company of Houston, Texas and the natural gas company based in Omaha Nebraska called InterNorth, in 1985. To start with Enron operated interstate gas pipelines. In 1989 Enron diversified into trading energy related products. In the fleeting time of a few years Enron wore the mantle of the largest trader of energy in the United States and the United Kingdom. By 1994 Enron grew to be the largest seller of electric power in the U.S. In 1997 Enron implemented its plans to reshape its corporate image to appear as a new, more modern, stylish in appearance and environment conscious company. It brought in a new company logo and went on to acquire Zond Corporation a leading developer in the field of wind energy power. This led to the formation of Enron Renewable Energy Corporation. In August 1997 Enron made public that it was entering the market place with new weather derivative products.

This was in addition to its trading in energy and it also started trading in cellulose, pulp, paper, fertilizer, plastic, metals and bandwidth. With the progress of time into 1999, Enron had turned so big that it was involved in nearly a quarter of the energy deals worldwide. Enron was involved in a major power scandal in Dhabol, India and this led to the developing world looking on Enron with distaste. Houston's new ballpark was named Enron Field in 1999, when Enron agreed to pay $100 million during a period of thirty years. Again in 1999 Enron Energy Services completed its first billion-dollar transaction with Suiza Foods. Shortly afterwards Enron launched EnronOnline the first ever-global Web-based online commodity trading site. In 2000 the Fortune magazine named Enron as the most innovative company in the U.S.A. For the fifth year in succession. In the same year Energy Financial Group ranked Enron as the 6th largest energy company worldwide.

Enron launched the New Power Company, the first national energy service in May 2000 along with its new strategic investors IBM and America Online. The New Power Company was created to provide energy services for residential and small businesses in the U.S., where deregulations in the energy market were introduced. In early 2001 Jeff Skilling took over as Enron's chief executive officer from Ken Lay. In October 2001 the tables were turned again and Ken Lay returned as chief executive officer with Jeff Skilling having resigned in August. Shortly afterwards in 2002 investigations into corporate crimes and accountancy fraud were initiated on Enron leading to sharp share prices fall and the collapse of the Enron empire. (Brief history of Enron Corporation - the biography of a corporate disaster)

The activities of Enron were not restricted to the U.S. And United Kingdom alone but rather it was spread all over the world. In Argentina Enron was involved in the development and laying of a pipeline system. In India Enron was to set up the largest power project in the history of the country at Dabhol Maharastra. This project later turned sour. Enron had interests in the energy sector in Guatemala, where it created and owned fifty percent of Puerto Quetzal Power Co. In the Phillipines Enron owned and operated the Batangas and Subic Bay power plants. In Trinidad and Tobago Enron owned oil and gas fields and was in the process of developing it. In Venezeula Enron owned gas fields and was into natural gas extraction. In Colombia Enron operated the Promigas pipeline project.

In Mozambique Enron gained control of the gas fields and proposed building a pipeline to transport gas to South Africa. In Turkey Enron owned fifty percent of a power plant. Enron owned fifty percent of the power plant that was financed by the World Bank in the Dominican Republic. In China, Enron operated a power plant. Enron had a major stake in the pipeline from Bolivia to Brazil. Enron owned the Bahia las Minas power plant in Panama. Enron was to open up the oilfields in Uzbekistan. Enron owned a power plant in the occupied territories of Palestine. In Indonesia Enron owned a gas fired power plant located at Java. In Nicaragua Enron owned a power plant. In Vietnam Enron was into the proposed power projects. Enron had plans to generate power from gas-fired power plant at Lagos in Nigeria. (Chronology of Enron's Empire)