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Calpine Corp. jumped into the center of the energy industryM&A activity last week, as it made bids to purchase Houston,TX-based Sheridan Energy and acquire 80% of Cogeneration Corp. ofAmerica (CGCA). Both mergers are expected to be completed by theend of the year.

Supportive physical prices and concerns over supply tightnesstook center stage yesterday in the natural gas pit at Nymex andthat gave bulls the impetus to post the seventh straight priceadvance. The September contract finished up 2.7 cents at $2.748after notching both a higher high and a higher low for the session.Estimated volume was 77,940 contracts.

Regulations related to the construction of interstate gaspipeline facilities took center stage at FERC last week, with theCommission proposing on one hand two initiatives aimed atstreamlining and expediting the certificate process for newprojects, while at the same time seeking through a third measure toexplore the possibility of involving landowners earlier on in theprocess – a move that, while generally viewed as inevitable andeven necessary, could pose added headaches for gas pipelines.

Regulations governing the construction of natural gas pipelinefacilities took center stage at FERC yesterday, with the Commissionputting a package of proposals on the table aimed at streamliningand expediting the certification process for new projects. It seeksto do this while at the same time getting affected landowners moreinvolved in the process.

The on-going inquiry into how to regulate pipelines operating onthe Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) took center stage at FERC lastweek, with interstate pipelines and natural gas producersresponding with proposals that are miles apart.