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Barclays Capital is in the process of bringing on board a team of 25 former-Enron power and gas traders, marketers and support staff in London in an attempt to rapidly build from scratch an energy-trading business. Barclays is entering the European market later than other banks--such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Westdeutsche Landesbank--and is hiring a ready-made desk to catch up with the opposition, explains one recruitment consultant. It had to fight off bids from other banks to land the highly prized Enron trading team, adds another official.

Deutsche Bank two weeks ago laid off a mergers & acquisitions banker in its investment-banking utility team as part of an overall cut of 2,100 investment banking jobs at the firm. A spokesman says George Ordonez, whose primary focus was M&A in the utility sector, was let go, but declined further comment. At Deutsche Bank, Ordonez reported to Jim Denaut, co-head of the investment banking utility group in New York. Ordonez and Denaut did not return calls.

RWE Trading Americas, the Houston-based arm of Germany's RWE, has hired two staffers from Enron as it prepares to launch a full trading operation this year. Claudio Ribeiro, head of new product development in Enron's weather team, and Eduardo Gil, a trader, will focus on energy trading. Their new titles could not be determined.

Following is a directory of upcoming Middle Eastern power projects. To report new projects, please call Will Ainger, Managing Editor, at (44-20) 7303-1735 or email: wainger@euromoneyplc.com

The UAE Offsets Group (UOG), an Abu Dhabi-based state-development agency, is currently talking to international and regional lenders about financing a $1 billion gas-fired power and water desalination project in the easterly emirate of Fujairah. The UOG has already signed up state-owned National Bank of Abu Dhabi as a senior lender and is now looking to sign up at least one other lead arranger by the end of the quarter, says a Middle Eastern banker. As part of plans to develop the project on a fast-track basis, the loan will be structured as a corporate facility backed by the UAE, as corporate loans are the quickest deals to assemble, says the banker.

RWE is considering entering the Middle Eastern IPP market for the first time, say market officials familiar with its plans. The Essen, Germany-based power and water leviathan is one of a large handful of international developers that have submitted initial requests for quotes with the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) for its Um Al Nar project. Bill McAndrews, a RWE spokesman in Essen, declined to comment and calls to Dean Hudson, a banker at ADWEA's advisor Credit Suisse First Boston, were not returned.

The lead arrangers of AES's $572 million Ras Lafan non-recourse loan closed retail syndication last Wednesday with the addition of 10 banks committing some $212 million. The 10 lead banks had originally been looking to sign up 15 banks for $300 million, (PFR,12/3), but, despite the shortfall, lenders says syndication was highly successful given the relatively difficult financing environment. Eight regional lenders and two international banks--Bayerische Landesbank and Deutsche Industriebank--joined the roster during syndication, say bankers.

South Carolina Electric & Gas is using the $300 million it recently raised in first-mortgage bonds to pay down short-term debt used to upgrade its Urquhart plant, and also to take out older higher-coupon debt. SCE&G is converting the 150 MW coal-fired Urquhart facility to a 450 MW natural gas-fired plant, says John Winn, manager of investor relations. The 6.625% coupon bonds will also pay down $150 million in an 8.875% series, due 2021. The switch to a lower coupon required the company to fork out a premium of 3.79% for the early redemption, he adds.

Citigroup's project finance team is attempting to organize key project finance lenders into pooling portfolio data to present to the Basel Committee this month to prove to the Swiss-based body that project loans have significantly higher recovery rates than corporate loans. "The accords may be five years away, but the earlier you start, the more of a jump you have on the situation," explains one project financier, noting, "Clients and banks should be worried. If they [The Models Task Force] rate the project finance loans as junk, the pricing will go through the roof."

Goldman Sachs has hired Paul Murray, head of weather derivatives at Enron in London, according to two industry officials. Murray could not be reached and calls to Goldman's press office were not returned. The bulge bracket firm is thought to be making a push into the European commodities market and recently transferred Richard Bronks, co-head of commodities in New York, to London (PFR, 1/28).