Acquisitions

With the news that its second-quarter net income doubled from the same period last year, Calgary-based PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. said Tuesday it would boost its capital budget almost 51% through the rest of the year, with 26% targeted toward high impact exploration. The increase, said the company, would allow it to take advantage of “new opportunities and pursue an aggressive plan of delivering further growth.”

Mergers and acquisitions in the energy industry are continuing at a feverish pace as two more production companies announced that they have decided to tie the knot. Samson Canada, a privately held oil and natural gas company with operations in the United States, Canada, Russia and Venezuela, announced that it will make an offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Courage Energy Inc. at a price of C$5.20/share in cash.

Mergers and acquisitions in the energy industry are continuing at the feverish pace set last year as two more production companies announced that they have decided to tie the knot. Samson Canada, a privately held oil and natural gas company with operations in the United States, Canada, Russia and Venezuela, announced on Monday that it will make an offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Courage Energy Inc. at a price of C$5.20/share in cash.

Based on recent and near-term acquisitions, Alberta EnergyCompany Ltd., (AEC) has upped cash flow projections for itsmidstream business for 2000 from the original estimate of C$145million to over C$165 million. The company also expects itsmidstream’s forecasted cash flow for the year 2001 to be C$230million, double its performance in 1999.

Based on recent and near-term acquisitions, Alberta EnergyCompany Ltd., (AEC) has upped cash flow projections for itsmidstream business for 2000 from the original estimate of C$145million to over C$165 million.

San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. announced yesterday it hascompleted the acquisitions of the remaining 50% interests in twonatural gas-fired power generation facilities from two affiliatesof Statoil Energy Inc. of Alexandria, VA, for $71 million.

Energy East Corp. has announced the successful completion of itsmerger with Connecticut Energy Corp., the first of four New Englandutility acquisitions initiated by the New York-based company in1999.

Cross Timbers Oil Co. executed a series of acquisitions, salesand closings last week in an attempt to tidy its portfolio andreduce debt. Through all the activity, the Texas-based producergained full control of Oklahoma City-based Spring Holdings Co. andclosed a previously announced $231 million deal with Ocean Energy.Cross Timbers said the net result of all this activity was anincreased reserve base, without deviation from its debt reductionplan.

Vector Energy Corp., created just over a year ago through oiland gas asset acquisitions, is leaving drill bits behind in favorof dot-coms and ISPs. “Nobody cares about oil and gas,” said VectorFounder and President Sam Skipper. Over the next several yearsVector will be either divesting its oil and gas properties ormerging them into another company, he said. Meanwhile it’s headingfor Internet territory, with a letter of intent to acquire onepublicly-held Internet Service Provider (ISP) and promises of anagreement with another with 8,000 subscribers.