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Hunt Oil Co.’s unsolicited bid to purchase all of the issued andoutstanding shares of Berkley Petroleum Corp. for C$10 per sharewas received as expected by Berkley shareholders this week, withthe Dallas-based company extending an olive branch by saying itwould lengthen the time period for its offer to be reviewed.

Pennsylvania-based PPL Corp. apparently has been watching itsfair share of westerns as it seems the company has recently takenon a “Go West” theme. This is evidenced by the company’s plans tobuild 1,800 MW of new electricity generation on the left coast atan estimated development cost of $900 million.

TECO Energy’s Power Services subsidiary (TPS) has secured a muchstronger foothold in the wholesale generation market by buying astake in two huge gas-fired merchant power plants being developedby Panda Energy International and by announcing plans to build a$1.2 billion, 850 MW unit adjacent to Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s oilrefinery in Lake Charles, LA.

TECO Energy’s Power Services subsidiary (TPS) has secured a muchstronger foothold in the wholesale generation market by buying astake in two huge gas-fired merchant power plants being developedby Panda Energy International. The companies announced a jointventure yesterday on the plants, which will be located in ElDorado, AR, and in Gila Bend, AZ, and will have a combined capacityto produce 4,600 MW of power. They are projected to cost $2.3billion to build. Teco’s equity committment is $960 million.

True to form, Wednesday in the natural gas pit at Nymex had itsshare of price volatility as traders factored the latest storagedata into the market. After a relatively quiet morning, the Octobercontract exploded higher to $5.38 and then tumbled lower to $5.26between 2:00 and 2:10 p.m. As it turned out, the prices produced inthat small trading window held as the prompt month’s daily range.October finished at $5.318, down 4.5 cents for the session.

Continuing on a trek to grab the lion’s share of the energyservices market, two subsidiaries of Enron Corp. yesterday inkedfinancial deals, totaling more than $1 billion that capitalize onthe Houston-based company’s energy management expertise and growthin the global risk market.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is soliciting bids forabout 25 MMcf/d or its royalty share of gas produced from certainoffshore leases in the Matagorda Island Offshore Operating System(MOPS). Bids are due by July 24 at 1 p.m. ET and the winner will bechosen within the following 24 hours.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is soliciting bids forabout 25 MMcf/d or its royalty share of gas produced from certainoffshore leases in the Matagorda Island Offshore Operating System(MOPS). Bids are due by July 24 at 1 p.m. ET and the winner will bechosen within the following 24 hours.

Energy powerhouse Enron decided to test its mettle once againlast week, offering British metals trader MG Plc $4.46 per sharecash offer in its bid to enter a new marketplace. The bid values MGat $445 million (300 million pounds sterling).