Stockholders

The Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) board on Friday adopted a limited duration stockholders rights plan, known commonly as a “poison pill,” in an effort to dilute activist billionaire shareholder Carl Icahn’s growing stake in the Houston-based independent.

The merger proposed between Permian Basin producers Diamondback Energy Inc. and Energen Corp. has been approved by each company’s stockholders. Diamondback is acquiring the Birmingham, AL-based operator in an all-stock transaction estimated at $9.2 billion. The merger, set to be completed by Friday (Nov. 29), is giving Midland, TX-based Diamondback a total of 390,000 net acres across the Midland and Delaware sub-basins of the Permian, an 85% increase from Diamondback’s 211,000 net acres at the end of June.

SandRidge Energy Inc. founder Tom Ward, the former chairman and CEO, was replaced Wednesday by the board of directors, which said its decision was “in the best interests of the company and its shareholders at this time.”

EOG Resources Inc. said it now holds 2.2 billion boe of potential recoverable crude oil reserves in the Eagle Ford Shale — reportedly the largest share net to one company in the last 40 years — and plans to continue focusing on oil production in 2013, after posting large increases in oil, condensate and natural gas liquids (NGL) production the year before.

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).

Houston-based Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) said Tuesday it has closed its acquisition of Pogo Producing Co. following approval by both companies’ stockholders.

Approximately 98% of voting stockholders of Houston-based Whittier Energy Corp. have approved the buyout of Whittier by Sterling Energy plc for an estimated $188 million, including $11 per Whittier share plus assumption of $43 million of Whittier liabilities. The merger was expected to close March 28. Whittier Energy is an independent oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company with operations in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The company also holds nonoperated interests in fields located in the Gulf Coast, Oklahoma, Wyoming and California. Sterling Energy is an independent E&P company formed in October 2002 and listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. Sterling has built a portfolio of production assets in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore West Africa, and has an active exploration program focused predominantly on Africa. Sterling has expanded its U.S. operations to include onshore Texas and the Louisiana Gulf Coast.

The transaction, subject to approval by Pennzoil’s stockholders and customary regulatory reviews, is expected to close in the second half of 2002 and is expected to add to Shell’s earnings and cash flow in the first full year after it is completed. Shell’s estimated pre-tax benefits from the transaction will total about $140 million a year by 2004. One-time transaction costs were estimated at $100 million.