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Barrett Resources Corp. may have been swallowed up by Williams last year, but Bill Barrett, the founder, chairman and former CEO, is aiming to make another “Barrett” company a successful natural gas-rich independent. In fact, if all goes as planned, the new company, Bill Barrett Corp., could go public in 12 to 36 months, focusing on what worked extremely well the first time: growth through the drill bit with a focus on the Rocky Mountains.

Houston-based Burlington Resources Inc., hoping to duplicate its success in the gas-rich San Juan Basin, on Tuesday agreed to purchase Calgary’s Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd. for C$53 a share, or $2.1 billion in cash (C$3.3 billion), gaining about 1.2 Tcf and 6.2 million bbl of estimated proved reserves and nearly two million net undeveloped acres and seismic data. When the transaction closes, Burlington will have 90% of its production focused on North American natural gas, with 40% in Canada.