Two more companies announced new or expanded operations in the European energy markets in January, giving further signs that the sector is recovering from its post-Enron slump last year.

French bank BNP Paribas says it plans to start a European power trading desk as part of its energy and commodity business. The team will comprise three traders based in London who will report to Jean-Marc Bonnefous, global head of commodity-indexed transactions at BNP in New York.

A BNP spokeswoman would not name