Announced

Calpine Corp., a San Jose-based independent power company,announced plans to build, own and operate a 540-megawatt gas-firedpower plant in Westbrook, ME. Calpine acquired development rightsfor the Westbrook Power Plant from Genesis Power Corp. of Needham,MA. Construction of the $300 million facility is scheduled to beginlater this month. The plant, which will burn about 90 MMcf/d, isscheduled to begin power deliveries as early as November 2000 andwill serve the New England market. Westbrook is Calpine’s fourthcombined-cycle facility under development in the New Englandmarket.

ScottishPower and PacifiCorp jointly announced that their Dec.7, 1998 merger plan gained a large boost Tuesday when the FederalTrade Commission (FTC) waived the 30-day waiting period under theHart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law.

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson last week announced the Clintonadministration will allow producers with offshore federal leases topay part of their royalties with oil for a limited time rather thanwith cash. With this action, DOE would draw down the oil oversupplythat has been depressing prices and provide some relief, if onlytemporarily, to small oil and gas producers. Richardson indicatedthe department will announce further initiatives this week to boostlagging oil and gas production in the United States.

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson last week announced the Clintonadministration will allow producers with offshore federal leases topay part of their royalties with oil for a limited time rather thanwith cash. This action would help to draw down the oil oversupplythat has been depressing prices and provide some relief, if onlytemporarily, to small oil and gas producers. Richardson indicatedthe department will disclose further initiatives this week to boostlagging oil and gas production in the United States.

General Electric (GE) announced Thursday it has entered into ajoint venture with Plug Power, a Latham NY-based company dedicatedto the development and manufacturing of fuel cells, to market fuelcells worldwide. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Thetwo companies will combine efforts to form a new company called GEFuel Cell Systems. GE will own 75% of the new company, with PlugPower owning the rest. GE also acquired 10% of Plug Power ownershipin the deal.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., an independent oil and gas company,announced Wednesday it has purchased 7.5 acres in a Houston suburbin order to build a 32-story, 800,000 square foot headquartersbuilding. The company said it needs to move to accommodate itsgrowth needs. Groundbreaking is expected early next year. Anadarkoplans to move in mid-2002.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced Thursday it has filedfor regulatory approval to offer exchange-traded, heating degreeday (HDD) and cooling degree day (CDD) futures and optionscontracts. The CME said these indexes will help companies manageweather-related financial risks. A start date will be set afterCommodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approval.

Planning on growth of 20 to 30% to its Houston workforce by2001, Enron announced plans for a 40-story office tower on adowntown Houston city block adjacent to its existing 50-storytower. “In the past three years, we have experienced annualemployment growth of about 10%, and we expect this to continue intothe next century due to the strength of all our businesses,” saidCEO Kenneth L. Lay. “This new world-class building will allow us tobring in the latest technologies to support our businesses, and itwill assist us in recruiting and retaining the best and thebrightest employees.”

Marking the start of a five-year, $400 million Gulf of Mexico(GOM) exploration and production (E&ampP) assault, Conoco announcedthe exchange of interest in several deep-water blocks with Exxonand the debut of the Deepwater Pathfinder, a drillship capable ofreaching 10,000-foot depths. In the exchange, Conoco acquired 50%of 29 Exxon-owned blocks and Exxon acquired 50% of 30 Conoco-ownedblocks. The undeveloped acreage is in Green Canyon, Garden Banks,Walker Ridge and Keathley Canyon. Terms of the transaction were notdisclosed. With this addition, Conoco holds interest in 295 blocksin the GOM, amounting to 1.2 million net acres.