| Type | Public (NYSE: SE) S&P 500 Component |
|---|---|
| Industry | Oil & Gas Pipelines |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas, USA |
| Key people | Gregory Ebel, President & CEO |
| Revenue | $4.945 billion USD (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | $1.674 billion USD (2010)[1] |
| Net income | $1.129 billion USD (2010)[1] |
| Employees | 5,500 (2011)[2] |
| Website | http://www.spectraenergy.com |
Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE) is a S&P 500 company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that operates in three key areas of the natural gas industry: transmission and storage, distribution, and gathering and processing. Spectra was formed in late 2006 from the spin-off from Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK). Spectra owns the Texas Eastern Pipeline (TETCo), a major natural gas pipeline which brings gas from the Gulf of Mexico coast in Texas to the New York City area. It is one of the largest pipeline systems in the United States.[3]
Contents |
In 2002, Duke Energy acquired Westcoast Energy, a Canadian corporation, which owned Chatham, Ontario-based Union Gas, regulated under the 1998 Ontario Energy Board Act.
On December 29, 2006 Standard & Poor's added Spectra Energy Corp. to its S&P 500 Index, replacing Parametric Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: PMTC), a software company, which then moved to the S&P MidCap 400 list instead.[4] Spectra began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SE.
On January 3, 2007, Duke Energy completed the spin-off of its natural gas business, including Westcoast Energy and Union Gas, to form Spectra Energy. Duke Energy shareholders received 1 share of Spectra Energy for every 2 shares of Duke Energy.
By early August 2007, the S&P 500 breached its first 10% correction in over four years, and the shares of Spectra Energy Corp. sunk to their lowest point since trading had begun in December 2006, after the company announced that second quarter earnings had dropped 39 percent.[5]
In 2009, the company's financial performance had improved and had a total shareholder return of 38.3 percent.
Gregory L. Ebel (born 1964 in Ottawa, Canada) is president and chief executive officer of Spectra Energy Corp and a member of the company’s board of directors. He also serves on the board of directors for DCP Midstream, a joint venture between Spectra Energy and ConocoPhillips, and a leader in natural gas gathering and processing and the production and marketing of natural gas liquids.
Career
Ebel has broad experience in the energy and finance fields, in both the public and private sectors. Prior to assuming his current role in 2009, Ebel was Spectra Energy’s chief financial officer. He also has served as president of Union Gas, Spectra Energy’s large natural gas utility company in Ontario, Canada. Ebel served as vice president of investor and shareholder relations and as managing director of mergers and acquisitions for Duke Energy. Prior to his Duke Energy roles, Ebel served as vice president of strategic development for Westcoast Energy, headquartered at the time in Vancouver, B.C., which is currently an indirect subsidiary of Spectra Energy.
Political/Government Career
Ebel began his political career as an assistant to Larry Grossman, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in Ontario. He then worked for the Government of Canada, holding positions as senior advisor and legislative assistant (1989-1991) to the Minister of Privatization and Regulatory Affairs, John McDermid, and as chief of staff (1991-1993) to the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Donald Mazankowski, both under the Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
In 1993, he left Ottawa to serve as advisor to the executive director of the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., with oversight responsibility for investment proposals of the International Finance Corporation, the private sector investment arm of World Bank.
Education
Ebel received a Bachelor of Arts degree from York University, Toronto, Ontario, in 1987 and is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
Thought Leadership
Ebel is often on Bloomberg TV’s Inside Track and In the Loop and has been a guest more than once on CNBC’s Power Lunch, Fox Business Network’s Closing Bell and Canada’s Business News Network’s Squeeze Play and Business Day. A respected industry leader with an active voice when it comes to energy legislation and regulation and a strong advocate for natural gas, Ebel’s op-ed commentary has been published in the Houston Chronicle, Denver Post, Washington D.C.’s The Hill, the Vancouver Sun, Toronto Star and the Hill Times. He has been a featured speaker at key industry events such as CERAWEEK, Carbon Disclosure Project’s Global Forum, Ontario Energy Association’s Annual Meeting, GLOBE 2010, CAMPUT, and at leading economic or business associations such as the Economic Club of Canada and the Greater Houston Partnership.
Industry Affiliations
Ebel currently serves as the first vice chairman of the board of directors for the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) and will assume the role of chairman in October 2011. INGAA is a trade organization that advocates regulatory and legislative positions of importance to the natural gas pipeline industry in North America and represents virtually all of the interstate natural gas transmission pipeline companies operating in the U.S., as well as comparable companies in Canada and Mexico. Its members transport over 95 percent of the nation's natural gas through a network of 200,000 miles of pipelines.
Community Involvement
Ebel serves on the board of the Greater Houston Partnership, an advocacy organization representing Houston’s business community and dedicated to building regional economic prosperity in the city’s ten-county region. He also is a board member and vice chair of Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.
Spectra Energy's environmental strategy focuses on meeting or exceeding the compliance requirements of applicable laws and regulations.
In 2011, Spectra Energy was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for the second consecutive year and to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI NA) for the fourth consecutive year. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) follow a best-in-class approach and include sustainability leaders from each industry on a global and regional level, respectively. DJSI World captures the top 10 percent of the world’s 2,500 largest companies, based on economic, environmental and social performance. DJSI NA rates the top 20 percent of the 600 largest companies in the United States and Canada. In selecting the top performers in each business sector, DJSI reviews companies on both broad and industry-specific sustainability criteria, assessing performance in areas such as corporate governance, environmental standards, climate change policy, risk management, supply chain standards, branding, labor practices and employee development.
Also in 2011, Spectra Energy Corp again ranked first in the Energy Sector in the 2011 Carbon Disclosure Project's "Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI)." The CDLI highlights companies within the S&P 500 that have displayed the most professional and transparent approach to corporate governance in respect to climate change disclosure practices. This is the third consecutive year the company has held the top slot.
In 2010, Spectra Energy was listed in the Newsweek green rankings. The listing was based on environmental impacts, green policies, and a reputation survey.
In 2009, the company expanded its Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) policy to hold all contractors and suppliers accountable for meeting EHS requirements. In 2009, Spectra Energy also established an environmental framework to consolidate strategies for managing environmental risks and impacts across its operations.
Spectra Energy may be considered the single largest private-sector source of greenhouse gases in British Columbia.[6] Since it co-owned DCP Midstream Partner with ConocoPhillips, Spectra Energy was reported in 2005 to emit 19,746 tons of nitrogen oxides and 9,286 tons of volatile organic compounds per year.[7]
In 2011, Spectra Energy employees and retirees completed 228 volunteer projects in communities throughout the U.S. and Canada as part of the company’s “Helping Hands in Action” program. Over 2,000 employees, retirees, their families and friends contributed more than 10,000 volunteer hours to 200 non-profit organizations in communities across the Spectra Energy enterprise. Projects ranged from cleaning up beaches, schools, camps and parks to preparing meals for those in need.