Ante

Colorado producers on Friday raised the ante in their concerns about a state agency’s efforts to establish new rules on setbacks for oil and natural gas drilling operators, gaining support from local business groups for a fact sheet citing the economic benefits that resource production brings to the state.

Houston-based Contango Oil & Gas Co., which up to now has trained its sights on Gulf Coast locations, on Monday joined with some financial partners to ante up to $380 million in a key Encana Corp. resource play, the Jonah field, one of the largest natural gas fields in the United States and the third largest oilfield in Wyoming.

Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) last week upped the ante for Southern Union Co., offering to pay $40/share, or a total of close to $8.9 billion, in a simplified cash-and-equity deal, which includes the assumption of debt. The offer is 42% higher than Southern Union’s closing price on June 15, the last trading day before the original merger agreement was unveiled.

Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) on Tuesday upped the ante for Southern Union Co., offering to pay $40/share, or a total of $8.8 billion, in a simplified cash-and-equity deal, which includes the assumption of debt. The offer is 42% higher than Southern Union’s closing price on June 15, the last trading day before the original merger agreement was unveiled.

Exelon Corp. upped the ante in its $6.36 billion hostile takeover attempt of NRG Energy on Friday by proposing a slate of independent nominees for election to the NRG board of directors at the next NRG annual meeting of shareholders. Exelon said it also proposes to increase the number of NRG directors to 19 from 12.

WSI Corp., which already forecast an active 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, upped the ante slightly in an update of its tropical forecast, calling for 14 named storms and eight hurricanes, including four intense hurricanes (Category 3 or greater) to form between June 1 and Nov. 30.

Canadian Superior Energy Inc. on Monday upped the ante for the shares of Canada Southern Petroleum, a small Canadian independent with production in British Columbia, the Yukon and Alberta and a relatively large acreage position in the Canadian Arctic Islands. Petro-Canada already has a hostile takeover offer on the table but Canadian Superior raised that by 13%. Canada Southern’s board, meanwhile, has urged its shareholders to take no action on the latest offer.

Fort Worth-based XTO Energy Inc. said Thursday it will spend $249 million to buy a set of natural gas-rich assets in East Texas and northern Louisiana with estimated proved reserves of 182 Bcfe. Kerr-McGee Corp. also is in the acquiring mood, announcing new lease agreements in the North Slope basin of Alaska and offshore Brazil.

XTO, whose focus is U.S.-based, estimates that its newest acquisitions are 90% natural gas and 50% proved developed and will add about 30 MMcfe/d to the company’s production base. Natural gas production in 2004 now targets an increase of 16% to 18%, up from the previous guidance of 13% to 15%. Most of the latest acquisitions are scheduled to close on or before Jan. 30.