DPL Inc. announced it has sold its financial interest in MarketHub Partners (MHP) to a subsidiary of NiSource for $29 million incash. This sale follows DPL’s recent announcement of the sale ofits natural gas retail distribution business to Indiana Energy. MHPis a natural gas storage company headquartered in Houston. DPL wasrequired to separate its electric business units with the Julypassage of Ohio electric restructuring legislation. In so doing,the company said it was going to explore options for its gasbusinesses while focusing on electric generation. DPL said it hascontinued to expand its natural gas-fired generation business withthe addition of 475 MW through two plans called “Phases One” and”Two.” Two more phases, which have yet to be announced, willincrease that capacity by 320 MW. These expansions are occurring inboth Ohio and Indiana, DPL said, and will be immediately accretiveto earnings as these units come online starting in the summer of2000.

Petroleum Development Corp. acquired a 7,500-acre undevelopedlease in the Grand Valley Field of the Piceance Basin in westernColorado. The lease lies between areas which have been successfullydeveloped by Barrett Resources, Occidental Petroleum, and others.PETD owns a 100% working interest on this land. The primary targetformation in the Piceance Basin is the Mesaverde. Well depths mayrange from about 6,500 feet to 10,000 feet, depending upon thesurface elevation. A number of well locations are available whichare direct offsets to existing producing wells. Reserves of 1.5 Bcfor more per well are expected. The company plans to commencedrilling on its acreage during the first quarter of 2000. Initialwell spacing will be 40 acres. Tests by operators in the regionindicate that closer spacing may be possible in the future. Ifsuccessful, production from here could add as much as 5 Bcfe of newreserves in 2000.

Infinity, Inc., an independent producer in Eastern Kansas andNortheastern Oklahoma, announced the start of operations on itsLabarge coalbed methane project in Sublette County, WY, part of theGreen River Basin. With 100 drillable locations and assumingrecovery of 80% of original gas in place, preliminary studiessuggest reserves could be over 450 Bcf.

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