Enron Mail |
If you didn't believe us before, I'm sure it is by now painfully clear that
negotiating master swap agreements is a very lengthy process. My impression is that the commercial team in Portland is anxious to begin trading financially. If this is correct, it would be possible, at least from a legal point of view, to begin trading now under the existing documents. In each case where a master agreement is already in place, trades entered into before the amendments we want will certainly be binding on both parties. Our only issues with trading under these agreements are where we need more restrictive credit provisions and that resumption of trading before an amendment is signed reduces to some extent our negotiating leverage. As to the credit issue, only the credit group can decide whether or not to permit trading under the existing terms. As for the negotiating leverage, if the commercial people want to resume trading immediately, my suggestion would be to let them go ahead. If it turns out that additional leverage is needed, we can always stop trading. Where no master swap agreement exists, we have documentation available to enable trading on a limited basis until the master is signed. The so-called "omnibus" confirmation will work for any normal commodity derivative transaction and can be customized to include necessary credit provisions - even where multiple trades exist with the same counterparty. Tana has unsuccessfully tried to get you access to our Lotus Notes database so you could determine the status of any negotiation on an up-to-the-minute basis. She will be sending a monthly report of our progress until you get the necessary software to access the database. Of course, if any issues come up in the meantime, please continue to feel free to call.
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