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In a $334 million tax-free stock deal that will triple its gas reserves and double its daily production, Denver-based Westport Resources Corp. announced it will buy Belco Oil & Gas, a peer company similar in structure with mirror assets in the Rocky Mountains, Permian Basin, Gulf Coast region and the Midcontinent.

California sailed through the last week of June free of blackouts and power alerts as the projections of controlled outages were on the decline as state officials focused on possible refunds through the federal settlement negotiations now ongoing and new power supply projects coming on line in the nick of time.

In a $334 million tax-free stock deal that will triple its gas reserves and double its daily production, Denver-based Westport Resources Corp. announced it will buy Belco Oil & Gas, a peer company similar in structure with mirror assets in the Rocky Mountains, Permian Basin, Gulf Coast region and the Midcontinent.

Forget the old nine-to-five, all the action now takes placeafter hours. While that sounds like a seedy radio ad for a happyhour hot spot or club, it is also an apt description of the naturalgas futures market as of late. Wednesday was a perfect example ofthis as prices climbed higher overnight Tuesday and notched a newhigh at $8.80 on the opening of the regular trading sessionWednesday, only to tumble lower for much of the remaining regulartrading session. However, bulls were on the offensive again lastnight as they bid up prices in overnight Access trading once again.As of press time at 7:30 PM (ET), the January contract was at$9.07, 58.5 cents higher than Wednesday’s $8.485 settlement price.

Rising temperatures again will mean growing tightness in powermarkets across the country this summer. While industry players havemore experience dealing with shortages and constraints, a trulyefficient market with ample power supply depends upon regulators,according to industry executives.

Pittsburgh-based OnlineChoice announced yesterday that it haslaunched www.GasChoice.com, a free website that allows consumersnationwide to join no-obligation natural gas buying pools.GasChoice.com is forming buying pools right now in every state sothat once deregulation hits that locale, the pools of residentialand commercial consumers with group buying power are ready to bidand ready to save, the company said. In addition, the company isaggressively developing buying pool websites for telephone service,Internet access, and home security systems, all of which arefollowing closely on the heels of GasChoice.

Joining a short list of other states, New Jersey opened upentirely to gas supplier choice earlier last week. At a specialmeeting on Jan. 10, the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved ofeach of the state’s four main gas utilities’ unbundling plans. Thelegislation calling for this deregulation was enacted lastFebruary.

Joining a short list of other states, New Jersey opened upentirely to gas supplier choice earlier this week. At a specialmeeting on Jan. 10, the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved ofeach of the state’s four main gas utilities’ unbundling plans. Thelegislation calling for this deregulation was enacted lastFebruary.

Natural gas futures took a Wylie Coyote-like free-fall yesterdayafter a bearish conspiracy of weather and technicals gave traderslittle choice but to liquidate long positions. After notching a newtwo-month high Wednesday afternoon, the December contract openedlower at $3.18 and never looked back, plummeting 25.8 cents tofinish at $2.965. January fared little better, tumbling 23.6 centsto $2.994.