Genie Energy

Genie Energy
Public
Traded as NYSE: GNE
Industry Oil and gas industry
Electricity
Headquarters Newark, New Jersey, United States
Key people
 Howard Jonas (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
Avi Goldin (CFO)
Geoff Rochwarger (Vice Chairman)
Michael Stein (COO and CEO of Genie Retail Energy)
Subsidiaries Genie Retail Energy
Genie Oil and Gas
Website www.genie.com

Genie Energy Ltd. is an American energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. It is a holding company comprising Genie Retail Energy, a retail energy provider in the United States, and Genie Oil and Gas, which is pursuing a conventional oil project in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Genie was part of IDT Corporation but was spun off on October 31, 2011, at which point Class B common stock of Genie Energy Ltd. began trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "GNE". [1]

Genie's founder, chairman, controlling shareholder and CEO is Howard Jonas. Avi Goldin serves as the company's CFO, Michael Stein is the company's COO and Geoffrey Rochwarger serves as Vice Chairman. The president of its Israeli subsidiary is Effie Eitam. Genie Energy's Strategic advisory board is composed of: Dick Cheney (former vice president of the United States), Rupert Murdoch (media mogul and chairman of News Corp), James Woolsey (former CIA director), Larry Summers (former head of the US Treasury), Bill Richardson, former Governor of New Mexico, an ex-ambassador to the United Nations and United States Energy Secretary[2], Michael Steinhardt, Jacob Rothschild,[3][2], and Mary Landrieu, former United States Senator from Louisiana.

In 2013, IDT Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Genie Energy, acquired both Dallas-based Diversegy, LLC a commercial energy advisory and its network marketing channel, Epiq Energy. They are now wholly owned subsidiaries of Genie Energy Ltd.[4]

Genie Retail Energy

Genie Retail Energy (GRE) is an operating division of Genie Energy holding Genie Energy's deregulated energy provider, or retail energy provider (REP), businesses. GRE purchases electricity and natural gas in the wholesale markets which it resells to residential and small business customers in New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Ohio, Rhode Island, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, DC [5] Commercial natural gas supply customers are also served in the state of Florida. Like other REP's, GRE competes against incumbent electric and gas utilities as well as over 100 other REPs.[6] GRE offers a variety of product offerings including green energy from renewable resources, fixed rate plans, and variable rate plans that allow its customers to change supplier at any time.[7] In November 2016, Genie Energy acquired Retail Energy Holdings, LLC. (REH), and added REH's brand, Town Square Energy, and meters to Gene Retail Energy's portfolio.[8] In August 2017, Genie Energy announced a joint venture to enter the retail energy market and begin customer acquisition in the United Kingdom.[9] Also in August 2017, Genie Retail Energy acquired Mirabito Natural Gas, a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based natural gas supplier to commercial customers.[10]

Genie Oil and Gas

Genie Oil and Gas (GOGAS) is exploring for conventional oil in the Golan Heights through its Afek Oil and Gas subsidiary. GOGAS previously pursued oil shale projects through American Shale Oil (AMSO), Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI) and Genie Energy Mongolia. AMSO, IEI, and Genie Energy Mongolia are no longer active. 89% of GOGAS is owned by Genie Energy while Jacob Rothschild, Michael Steinhardt and Rupert Murdoch among others hold minority interests.[11][12][13]

Afek Oil and Gas

In February 2013, Israeli authorities awarded Afek Oil and Gas an exclusive 36-month petroleum exploration license to a 153-square-mile (400 km2) plot in the Golan Heights, which the UN recognizes to be Syrian territory.[14][15][16][17] Afek subsequently conducted above-ground geophysical tests and based on its preliminary analysis, has applied for a ten well exploratory drilling program.[18] South of Katzrin in the southern Golan Heights in 2015, Afek discovered a substantial amount of oil and natural gas reserves.[19][20][21][lower-alpha 1] The company had drilled a series of exploratory wells including Ness-5, just northwest of the Avnei Eitan and Nov moshavim and south of Kibbutz Natur and the town of Katzrin; Ness-3, near the Bnei Yehuda industrial area; Ness-6, located near the entrance of Moshav Kanaf, just southeast of Gamla.[22]; and most recently Ness 10 north of the Sheikh-Ali Fault. As of August 2017, Afek was continuing drilling operations at Ness 10 in an effort to determine whether its license area contained resources that could sustain commercially production.[23]

Human rights groups have said the drilling violates international law as Golan Heights is an occupied territory.[24]

American Shale Oil

American Shale Oil (AMSO) was a joint venture between Genie Energy and Total S.A..[25] Genie announced in May 2016 that the partners were closing the venture. [26] and its pilot plant facilities located outside of Rifle, CO., were subsequently decommissioned and removed. AMSO received in 2006 a Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) lease from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Colorado's Piceance Basin in order to develop a process for generating oil and gas from deep buried oil shale.[27] The lease comprised a tract of 160 acres (65 ha), and was granted for an initial term of 10 years with the possibility of up to a 5-year extension upon proof of diligent progress toward commercial production. [28] AMSO's tech team was headed by Dr. Alan Burnham, a scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.[29] AMSO's proposed technology was called CCR (Conduction, Convection, Reflux).[27]

Israel Energy Initiatives

Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI) was founded in 2008 to develop oil shale in Israel. In July 2011, the company received a one-year extension of a three-year license to explore oil shale resources on 238 square kilometres (92 sq mi) in Israel's Shefela region.[30] In September 2014, a government planning committee rejected a building permit for the project. The committee decision essentially killed the project, as IEI did not pursue any means of appeal.[31] By the time of the committee ruling most of the staff of IEI, including Chief Scientist Harold Vinegar, had moved to work at the sister company, Afek.

IEI planned to use In-Situ Conversion Process technology for its pilot project, following the format a 1995 trial by Royal Dutch Shell. Shell subsequently shut down its work on developing the technology.

Israel's major environmental organizations, including the Jewish National Fund, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Greenpeace, and the Israel Union for Environmental Defense protested against the IEI license. Environmental concerns include the potential for contaminating Israel's Shfela aquifer, which runs underneath the Shfela oil shale formation, for destroying a rural region of Israel that currently promotes eco-tourism, and for reversing Israel's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Residents of the local community of Adullam and their supporters led the campaign to stop the IEI work, citing both the environmental damage and the questionable economic value of the project.[32]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The October 2015 announcement of the potential oil reserves in the southern Golan Heights often heralded that this discovery would make Israel self sufficient in oil for many years to come. As of 2015, Israel consumes 270,000 barrels of oil per day.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ "Genie Energy Begins Trading on NYSE". Business Wire. 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
  2. 1 2 "Black gold under the Golan". The Economist. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Business and Financial Leaders Lord Rothschild and Rupert Murdoch Invest in Genie Oil & Gas". Business Wire. 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
  4. ↑ http://genie.com/investors/quarterly-earnings/ for earnings release "Genie Energy Reports First Quarter 2014 Results".
  5. ↑ New York Public Service Commission
  6. ↑ 10-k, IDT Corp, July 31, 2011
  7. ↑ "Genie Retail Energy Acquires Retail Energy Holdings, LLC". Genie Energy Press Release.
  8. ↑ "Genie Energy Launches JV to Pursue UK Retail Energy Market". Genie Energy press release. August 2, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Genie Energy acquires Florida-based commercial natural gas supplier". Your Oil and Gas News. August 15, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Business and Financial Leaders Lord Rothschild and Rupert Murdoch Invest in Genie Oil & Gas" (Press release). IDT Corporation. 2010-11-15. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  11. ↑ "Michael Steinhardt to Become Chairman of IDT Corporation Subsidiary, Israel Energy Initiatives" (Press release). IDT Corporation. 2010-04-19. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  12. ↑ Barkat, Amiram (2010-11-22). "Murdoch, Rothschild invest in Israeli shale oil". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  13. ↑ Kelley, Michael (February 22, 2013). "Israel Grants First Golan Heights Oil Drilling License To Dick Cheney-Linked Company". Business Insider. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  14. ↑ "Israel approves drilling for oil in Golan Heights". The Jerusalem Post. 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  15. ↑ Barkat, Amiram (20 February 2013). "Israel awards first Golan oil drilling license". Globes. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  16. ↑ "N.J. firm wins original rights to drill in Golan Heights". JTA. 21 February 2013. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "Genie Energy Reports First Quarter 2014 Results" (PDF) (Press release). Genie Energy. 2014-05-07. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  18. 1 2 Graeber, Daniel J (7 October 2015). "Israel upbeat on Golan oil potential: Israeli company estimates reserve column 10 times larger than global average". UPI. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  19. 1 2 Globes correspondent (7 October 2015). "Huge oil discovery on Golan Heights: Estimates are that the amount of oil found will make Israel self sufficient for very many years to come". Globes. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  20. ↑ Graeber, Daniel J (9 October 2015). "Major reserve discovery confirmed in the southern Golan Heights: Leadership of company behind the find seen as close to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu". UPI. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  21. ↑ Udasin, Sharon (7 October 2015). "Still too soon to determine production potential of Golan Heights oil: Afek Oil and Gas say findings have so far revealed a 'very robust oil-bearing strata'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "Genie Energy Reports Second Quarter 2017 Results". Genie Energy press release.
  23. ↑ Khoury, Jack (25 February 2016). "Human Rights Groups: Golan Oil Drilling Contravenes International Law". Haaretz. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  24. ↑ "Total buys 50 pct stake in AMSO to sell shale oil". Reuters. January 14, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  25. ↑ "First Quarter 2016 Results". Genie Energy. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  26. 1 2 Secure Fuels from Domestic Resources: The Continuing Evolution of America's Oil Shale and Tar Sands Industries (PDF) (4th ed.). United States Department of Energy. 2010. pp. 14–15. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  27. ↑ Andrews, Anthony (2008). Developments in Oil Shale (PDF) (Report). Congressional Research Service. pp. 18–19. CRS RL34748. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  28. ↑ "Alan K. Burnham Ph.D. Executive Profile". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
  29. ↑ 10-k, IDT Corp, October 11, 2011
  30. ↑ Udasin, Sharon (2014-09-02). "Jerusalem District Committee rejects Shefla basin oil shale pilot project". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2015-02-12.
  31. ↑ Laylin, Tafline (2010-12-08). "Oil & Wine Don't Mix: Over 1,000 Israelis Protest Oil Shale In Adullam". Retrieved 2011-10-18.
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