Gasco Energy Inc. and Burlington Resources plan to explore and potentially develop a series of deep natural gas plays in Wyoming’s Greater Green River Basin under an agreement announced Thursday. The companies plan to jointly explore and develop seven areas of mutual interest (AMI) under an umbrella exploration agreement covering 332,000 acres in west-central Wyoming. Financial details were not disclosed. Houston-based Burlington will be operator of each and AMI will hold a 50% working interest. Gasco, headquartered in Denver, will own a 25% working interest and a private company will own the remaining 25%. Under the agreement, Burlington will acquire about 180 miles of high resolution 2-D seismic data with an obligation to drill two wells at its cost. The partners then would share subsequent costs on additional wells that are drilled. The agreement also would give Burlington the right to make drilling decisions on the AMIs between now and August 2003.

Tulsa-based Williams has launched uE, a cross-commodity price index for both spot and future energy prices, as a companion to its web-based EnergyNewsLive.com. Similar to the Dow Jones for equity markets, the Williams uE will offer an equivalent benchmark for the overall price of energy, measuring the price average of eight individual commodities: electricity, natural gas, unleaded gasoline, heating oil, ethane, propane, residual fuel and jet fuel. The site includes information on pricing trends including a national spot uE, forward uE, regional uE, commodity quotes, as well as daily, weekly and monthly commentary. Included on the site is EnergyPulse, which will feature Dr. Dennis O’Brien, director of energy and policy at the University of Oklahoma. EnergyPulse now airs every Friday on Williams’ EnergyNewsLive site, and offers an analysis of trends in energy pricing and the impact the economy has on energy. Williams uE was introduced a year ago when EnergyNewsLive debuted, and Williams said it has tested and refined the site for the company’s own market activity. It also has been reviewed by the Energy Information Administration, said Williams. To view the site, visit www.williams-ue.com.

Madison, WI-based Alliant Energy Corp. and Panda Energy International of Dallas plan to develop and operate a 1,100 MW natural gas combined-cycle power plant in western Michigan. The $600 million facility is expected to be operational by 2004. At least 55% of the project costs are expected to be financed through non-recourse debt at the joint venture level, with the remaining portion provided by Alliant Energy. Alliant Energy and Panda also intend to sell a “significant” portion of the plant’s output under long-term contracts, with Alliant Energy managing the power sales from the facility that are not subject to contracts. Construction is set to begin in the first quarter of 2002, and facility, when completed, will supply up to 36 million people in the nine states that comprise the East Central Area Reliability Region (ECAR). Panda will provide development services for the project, while Alliant Energy Resources, a non-regulated subsidiary of Alliant Energy, will maintain and operate the plant. Returns on investment over the life of the project are expected to be 15-20%, according to Thomas M. Walker, Alliant Energy’s CFO.

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