Intends

SM Energy Co. intends “to pursue any and all legal remedies” arising from Endeavour International Corp.’s decision to terminate agreements to buy a 42,000-acre leasehold and associated pipeline assets in McKean and Potter counties in northern Pennsylvania, the Denver-based company said.

SemGroup Corp. has rejected a $1.24 billion takeover bid by Plains All American Pipeline LP, but Plains said it intends to continue to pursue the midstream operator. SemGroup, which emerged from bankruptcy in late 2009, purchases, sells, processes, transports and stores crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, asphalt and refined products. It recently had announced plans to increase the capacity of its gas processing facilities in northern Oklahoma, and the board said the increased processing capacity and other long-term strategies offered a compelling future for its shareholders.

ConocoPhillips last week said it intends to file required paperwork in early November to spin off its downstream unit from its exploration and production (E&P) business, which when completed would create the biggest pure-play independent in North America.

Swift Energy Co. agreed to sell its interests in six fields in South Louisiana, two in Texas and one in Alabama to an undisclosed private oil and gas company for $53.5 million. Swift said it would use the proceeds to fund a portion its 2011 capital expenditures. Production attributable to the fields being sold averaged 10.6 MMcfe/d during 1Q2011 with aggregate proved reserves of 92.2 Bcfe (19% proved developed producing and 65% natural gas) at year-end 2010. The sale is expected to close within the next two months.

Mountainview Energy Ltd. announced it intends to acquire a 20% interest in approximately 67,000 gross acres (about 13,400 net acres) in the Bakken/Three Forks Shale in a stock deal valued at about C$21.5 million. The parcels are located in the Medicine Lake Prospect, which is in Divide County, ND, and Richland, Roosevelt and Sheridan counties, MT. The acquisition will increase Mountainview’s position in the Williston Basin to approximately 25,400 net acres.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp., which has been on the prowl for unconventional gas and oil resources for several months, on Wednesday agreed to pay $325 million to acquire Bakken Shale producer NuLoch Resources Inc.

Duke Energy (DUK) intends to acquire Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) in a $13.7 billion stock deal that would create the country’s largest utility, serving 7.1 million power customers in six regulated territories, the companies said last week. While the majority of the combined company’s generation would be coal-fired, natural gas and oil units would account for more than one-third of owned generating capacity.

DCP Midstream LLC s holding a nonbinding open season through Dec. 9 for the proposed DCP Sandhills Pipeline. The natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline would run more than 700 miles from West Texas to fractionation and storage facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast including those at Mont Belvieu, TX.

Apache Corp.’s announcement late Tuesday that it intends to purchase $7 billion worth of North American and Egyptian oil and natural gas assets from BP plc drew a mostly positive reaction from financial analysts, but credit ratings agencies are concerned about the number of transactions the Houston-based producer is taking on.