J. Mark McKay

Jonathan McKay, known professionally as J. Mark McKay, was a gas pricing specialist and trader who worked for Enron Canada Corp (ECC) in Calgary before relocating to Houston in August 2001 to join Enron North America’s East Gas Desk. His signature expertise centered on Canadian natural gas markets, particularly AECO hub pricing, Northeast United States gas trading, and CAD/USD currency conversions for cross-border transactions. McKay provided daily pricing quotes to marketers, managed risk for load-following deals, and became the primary specialist at Enron for Northeast gas market pricing.

McKay’s email archive contains 1,320 messages spanning May 7, 2001 to November 30, 2002, with correspondence from 244 unique senders. Volume-adjusted term analysis reveals that McKay held the highest ownership across the entire Enron corpus for several key terms: “northeast,” “quotes,” “currency,” and “pricing.” This statistical signature confirms his role as the company’s leading expert on Northeast gas pricing and Canadian currency conversion for energy trades.

Career at Enron

Calgary Period (Early 2001)

McKay began his documented tenure at Enron Canada Corp in Calgary during the first half of 2001. His primary responsibility was providing daily AECO (Alberta Energy Company hub) pricing to the marketing team. In a June 8, 2001 task note to himself, McKay outlined his core duties: “Get pricing for AECO to marketers - Create for there meeting– have avalible everyday. set all the mids perfect and be aggressive on looking at spreads and fixed price arbitrge.”

The Calgary office served both wholesale and retail customers across Alberta. McKay provided fixed-price quotes for various contract terms, typically one, two, three, and five years, priced at AECO plus basis adjustments. A May 30, 2001 email to marketer Greg Frers demonstrates his work style, providing detailed pricing for four Calgary-area facilities including Family Leisure Centre, Springbank Park, NE Sportsplex, and Huntington Hills, with prices ranging from $5.315 to $5.47 per gigajoule. McKay concluded the pricing email with characteristic encouragement: “Go forth and do deals……………………………”

Beyond retail pricing, McKay worked on wholesale capacity commitments. A June 4, 2001 technical memo from Kevin Heal detailed ECC’s obligations to the Williams-owned Cochrane extraction plant: “ECC has a firm longterm commitment to supply the Cochrane plant with 59,000 mcf each day subject to exceptions for force majeure and allowable ‘Supplier Deficiency Default’ days. ECC is paid $0.005/mcf.”

McKay also participated in industry coordination efforts. Public records show his involvement in the TCPL Tolls Task Force, which addressed TransCanada Pipeline tolling issues affecting Alberta gas producers and shippers.

Currency Conversion Expertise

A distinctive aspect of McKay’s work was managing CAD/USD currency conversion for Canadian gas trades. His ownership of the term “currency” at the top rank across the Enron corpus reflects the specialized nature of this responsibility. In June 2001, McKay participated in meetings regarding currency issues with the accounting and finance departments, working to establish proper procedures for cross-border transaction recording.

McKay’s currency expertise extended to informal assistance for colleagues. In late August 2001, shortly after his relocation to Houston, he helped Jeffrey Pearson convert Canadian dollars to US dollars for tuition payments. McKay wrote on August 29, 2001: “How’s about US$10,000 to get started or do you need US$20,000 right away? I’m not sure Enron is going to do the trade with me but I would be glad to help you out.” This exchange reveals both his willingness to assist colleagues and his established relationships across the organization.

Houston Transition (August 2001)

In July 2001, McKay received notification that he would relocate from Calgary to Houston. Correspondence from relocation consultant Camilla Mursch on July 12, 2001 addressed the sale of his Calgary home and logistics of the move. Wire transfer details were finalized by July 16, 2001, and McKay settled at 1808-909 Texas Avenue, Houston, Texas 77002, placing him near Enron’s headquarters.

The transition required McKay to learn new markets while leveraging his Canadian pricing expertise. Writing to Caroline Abramo on August 27, 2001, shortly after his arrival, McKay acknowledged the learning curve: “Thanks for the encouragement…………….Its going to take some time to get up to speed, but I’ll be sure to let you know if anything looks good as far as trades for the North East.”

McKay joined the East Gas Desk at Enron North America, receiving daily “East Position Totals” trading reports beginning October 18, 2001. His signature term “northeast” at the top ownership rank demonstrates that he quickly became the primary specialist for Northeast US gas markets within the organization.

Working Relationship with John Lavorato

After relocating to Houston, McKay developed a close working relationship with John Lavorato, head of Enron North America’s trading operations. The two regularly exercised together, using afternoon runs as stress relief during the increasingly turbulent fall of 2001.

Email exchanges show their scheduling coordination. On October 22, 2001, as Enron’s financial crisis was becoming public, Lavorato wrote to McKay: “We need to run today. I am not a father just a bad gas trader.” By October 25, 2001, with the crisis deepening, Lavorato agreed to an afternoon run: “maybe 5:30 - stress relief how.”

The relationship with Lavorato, who was a senior figure in Enron’s trading hierarchy, suggests that McKay had earned respect for his technical capabilities despite being relatively junior in the organization.

Load-Following Deal Risk Management

McKay took particular interest in developing Enron’s capabilities for load-following natural gas deals, which involved variable volume contracts where customer consumption determined actual quantities delivered. These deals required sophisticated risk management because the seller bore the exposure to demand fluctuations.

In May 2001, McKay researched how Enron’s UK operations handled such arrangements. Darren Cross informed him on May 19, 2001: “Louise Kitchen was the ‘architect’ of putting the process in place to manage the risk associated with natural gas load following deals.” This reference to Kitchen, who was then President of Enron Net Works and a senior figure in the company, indicates that McKay was studying best practices from Enron’s most successful trading operations to apply in the Canadian market.

Key Correspondents

McKay’s correspondence patterns reveal his network across both Calgary and Houston operations. His top correspondents reflect relationships with gas traders, marketers, and administrative staff across both offices.

The presence of Brad McKay as his second-highest correspondent, with the same surname, suggests a family relationship within the company. His frequent communication with Chuck Ames, a senior gas trader, reflects his integration into the Houston trading operation.

McKay’s most frequent conversation topics centered on his pricing responsibilities: “enequotes.xls” (21 emails), “Pricing” (13), “Quotes” (12), “Currency” (11), and “Natural Gas Pricing” (7). Other notable topics included “AECO Pricing,” “Indicative Pricing,” and “Boston Gas Deal,” reflecting his work across both Canadian and Northeast US markets.

Performance Management

McKay participated actively in Enron’s Mid-Year 2001 Performance Management process, providing feedback for numerous colleagues in the Calgary office. PEP system notifications from May 9-18, 2001 show he was requested to evaluate: Peggy Hedstrom, Lisa McIsaac, Kathy Reeves, Clayton Rondeau, Dianne Seib, Chad Bruce, Brian Gillis, Eric Le Dain, Carlos Torres, and John Zufferli.

The number and variety of colleagues for whom McKay provided feedback suggests he held a respected position within the Calgary team, with visibility across multiple functional areas including trading, marketing, and operations.

Crisis Period and Bankruptcy

McKay’s email activity peaked during Enron’s crisis months. November 2001 saw his highest monthly volume at 252 emails, coinciding with the public disclosure of Enron’s financial problems and the failed Dynegy merger attempt. His August 2001 relocation to Houston, which produced 158 emails that month, had placed him at the center of the company’s trading operations just as the crisis began to unfold.

Email Activity

The sharp decline in March 2002, just three months after Enron’s December 2, 2001 bankruptcy filing, likely reflects the collapse of trading operations and associated layoffs. The gap between March and November 2002 suggests employment disruption during this period.

Post-Bankruptcy Reflections

By late 2002, McKay remained employed in some capacity related to energy trading, though the circumstances had clearly deteriorated. In an email to family in Canada on November 30, 2002, he reflected candidly on his situation: “Life is busy, work is not going all that well just yet and it seems to take up a lot of my energy. There is a lot of things that need to be improved and I have not had a very good run trading down here so the two combined make work seem a lot like WORK.”

This personal communication reveals the human dimension of Enron’s collapse on mid-level employees who continued working in the energy trading industry after the company’s bankruptcy.

Legal Status

No references to Jonathan McKay appear in Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, or court documents related to Enron’s collapse. His role was operational, focused on gas pricing and trading execution rather than financial reporting or strategic decision-making. The absence of legal involvement is consistent with his position as a technical specialist rather than a senior executive.

See Also

• John Lavorato - Head of Enron North America trading operations, regular correspondent
• Louise Kitchen - Referenced as architect of load-following deal risk management
• Enron Canada Corp - Calgary-based subsidiary where McKay began his Enron career
• AECO Pricing - Alberta gas hub central to McKay’s pricing work
• Northeast Gas Markets - McKay’s specialty after Houston relocation

References

This article is based on analysis of 1,320 emails from J. Mark McKay’s archive in the Enron corpus, spanning May 7, 2001 to November 30, 2002. Volume-adjusted term frequency analysis was used to identify signature expertise areas. Secondary source verification found one public reference in the Enron Mail Archive regarding TCPL Tolls Task Force participation. No mentions were found in DOJ, SEC, or court documents.