Mergers

As mergers and acquisitions attempt to live up to the pace set during 2000, Denver-based MarkWest Hydrocarbon Inc. reported it has more than doubled natural gas reserves with the $51 million acquisitions of Leland Energy Canada Ltd. and Watford Energy Ltd. — two privately owned exploration and production companies based in Calgary. The companies’ current management, which directs both Leland’s and Watford’s operations, will remain intact, MarkWest said.

Gasco Energy Inc. has appointed Michael Decker to the positions of COO and executive vice president. Decker has 24 years of oil and gas prospecting, mergers and acquisitions, development and operations experience. He is also chairman of the Potential Gas Committee, an independent group that provides estimates and reports on the nation’s long-range gas supply. Decker is the past vice president of exploitation with Prima Energy Corp., a Denver-based independent oil and gas company. Decker is also currently the owner and president of Black Diamond Energy, a geological engineering, operations, prospecting and merger and acquisition consulting firm. Gasco Energy is a Denver-based natural gas and oil exploration and development company that focuses in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The company currently holds interests in properties located in the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah, which are being developed through an agreement with Phillips Petroleum.

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.

Higher commodity prices, cost savings and mergers contributed toBP Amoco Plc’s $14.2 billion windfall year-end profits last year,which broke British profit records and were second only toU.S.-based rival Exxon Mobil Corp.’s $17 billion profit for 2000.BP’s profit in 1999 was $6.2 million.

West Virginia-based Trans Energy Inc. is creating a wholly-ownedsubsidiary, Trans Energy Acquisition, to aggressively pursueacquisitions and mergers within the oil and natural gas sector,appointing industry veteran Gary Lawyer to the executiveacquisition committee.

West Virginia-based Trans Energy Inc. is creating awholly-owned subsidiary, Trans Energy Acquisition, to aggressivelypursue acquisitions and mergers within the oil and natural gassector, appointing industry veteran Gary Lawyer to the executiveacquisition committee.

With the high incidence of inter-marrying between the naturalgas and electric markets, the number of affiliate shippers oninterstate gas pipelines has grown commensurately while the ranksof independent shippers have dwindled, raising the level of”concern” among regulators and some industry players about pipelineaffiliate transactions.

With the high incidence of convergence in the natural gas andelectric markets, the number of affiliate shippers on interstategas pipelines has grown commensurately while the ranks ofindependent shippers have dwindled, raising the level of “concern”among regulators and some industry players about pipeline affiliatetransactions.