Corporate

Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) has agreed to acquire its affiliated master limited partnership (MLP) Energy Transfer Partner LP (ETP) in an all-stock transaction valued at $27 billion, management for the two companies announced.

Upstream merger and acquisition (M&A) activity isn’t as slow as some believe, but now it’s about asset transactions, rather than mega corporate takeovers, a Raymond James & Co. Inc. analyst said in a note Monday.

Blaze Energy Corp. said it has settled a dispute with Environmental Energy Services Inc. (EESV), exchanging subsidiary EESV Fayetteville Inc. and associated outstanding notes for EESV’s 76% stake in the company, in a stock deal valued at $1.9 million. Under the first phase of a reorganization plan, the Boise, ID-based company — which is not affiliated with Calgary-based Blaze Energy Ltd. — also accepted the resignations of all but one of its employees and canceled the lease for its corporate offices.

A continued overcapacity in land pressure pumping services, as well as no relief in natural gas pricing, will impact Halliburton Co.’s North American business again this year, CEO Dave Lesar said Friday.

A chilly warning that sponsors of Canada’s northern pipeline posted to their stockholders in May, during the spring round of corporate annual meetings, has turned out to be true: do not expect any government to rescue the frozen scheme, said Imperial Oil Ltd., senior partner in the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP).

A chilly warning that sponsors of Canada’s northern pipeline posted to their stockholders in May, during the 2012 spring round of corporate annual meetings, has turned out to be true: do not expect any government to rescue the frozen scheme, said Imperial Oil Ltd., senior partner in the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP).

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s annual meeting Friday has taken on special meaning for the company, its shareholders and the business community following corporate governance questions raised in the past two months that are hanging over the heads of CEO Aubrey McClendon and members of the board of directors. Two board members face reelection, but if big shareholder groups have their way, including the third largest, Carl Icahn, the company will see some new faces.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) lowered its corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX) to “BB” from “BBB-” with a “stable” outlook and said the decision was based on compressed basis differentials leading to increased recontracting risk in the years ahead.

The United States is seeing a resurgence in ethylene cracking facilities as chemical companies, which left the country a decade ago because of high natural gas feedstock prices, are returning to build new plants and reopen mothballed facilities due to lower gas prices brought on by the boom in shale production, said the head of the American Gas Association (AGA) Friday.