The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

EnronOnline
Enron opened EnronOnline, an electronic trading platform for energy commodities, on
November 29, 1999. Conceptualized by the company's European Gas Trading team, it
was the first web-based transaction system that allowed buyers and sellers to buy, sell,
and trade commodity products globally. It allowed users to do business only with Enron.
The site allowed Enron to transact with participants in the global energy markets. The
main commodities offered on EnronOnline were natural gas and electricity, although
there were 500 other products including credit derivatives, bankruptcy swaps, pulp, gas,
plastics, paper, steel, metals, freight, and TV commercial time. At its maximum, more
than $6 billion worth of commodities were transacted by means of EnronOnline every
day.
After Enron's bankruptcy in late 2001, EnronOnline was sold to the Swiss financial giant
UBS. Within a year, UBS abandoned its efforts to relaunch the division, and closed it in
November 2002.
Enron International
Enron International (EI) was Enron's wholesale asset development and asset
management business. Its primary emphasis was developing and building natural gas
power plants outside North America. Enron Engineering and Construction Company
(EECC) was a wholly owned subsidiary of Enron International, and built almost all of
Enron International's power plants. Unlike other business units of Enron, Enron
International had a strong cash flow on bankruptcy filing. Enron International consisted
of all of Enron's foreign power projects, including ones in Europe.
The company's Teesside plant was one of the largest gas-fired power stations in the
world, built and operated by Enron from 1989, and produced 3 percent of the United
Kingdom's energy needs. Enron owned half of the plant's equity, with the remaining 50
per cent split between four regional electricity companies.
Management
Rebecca Mark was the CEO of Enron International until she resigned to manage
Enron's newly acquired water business, Azurix, during 1997. Mark had a major role in
the development of the Dabhol project in India, Enron's largest international endeavor.
Projects
Enron International constructed power plants and pipelines across the globe. Some are
presently still operating, including the massive Teesside plant in England. Others, like a
barge-mounted plant off Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, cost Enron money by
lawsuits and investment losses. Puerto Plata was a barge-mounted power plant next to
the hotel Hotelero del Atlantico. When the plant was activated, winds blew soot from the
plant onto the hotel guests' meals, blackening their food. The winds also blew garbage
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