Tender

Mexico’s state-owned oil and gas monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) opened its second round of tender offers for companies interested in exploring for natural gas in the Burgos Basin. Pemex will take bids on four new blocks in the region located south of Texas. Through its multiple-service contracts, which allow international companies to take part in exploration, Pemex last year awarded tenders for five blocks in the basin. The contracts are part of Mexico’s plan to halve the country’s gas imports by 2007. Last year, Mexico’s gas output totaled 4.4 Bcf/d. Pemex will take bids for the Pandura-Anahuac and Ricos blocks through Oct. 26. Tenders for the Pirineo and Monoclonal blocks will begin Aug. 17 and will be taken through Nov. 23. In total, Pemex said the contracts are worth $2.7 billion.

Calgary-based Anderson Exploration Ltd. on Friday accepted the C$40 per share cash tender offer of Devon Energy Corp., based in Oklahoma City. Devon also said it had received “all necessary approvals” to acquire Anderson in a $4.6 billion deal first announced in September (see Daily GPI, Sept. 5). When the deal is completed, Devon would become the top independent oil and gas producer in North America, a post currently held by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. About 128 million of Anderson’s shares were tendered under the offer, representing 97% of the Canadian company’s total shares outstanding. Devon intends to take up the tendered shares and pay the depository on Monday (Oct. 15) and will acquire the remaining shares of Anderson by compulsory acquisition for C$40 per share in cash.

Conoco Inc. completed its C$12.40 cash tender offer by its Canadian subsidiary Conoco Northern Inc. to purchase all of the outstanding ordinary shares of Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. on July 13. The purchase was first announced in May (see Daily GPI, May 30). Conoco has accepted nearly 524 million tendered ordinary shares of Gulf Canada, which represents about 96% of its shares. The transaction is accretive to Conoco’s earnings per share and to cash flow, and combined with reduced capital spending, it said that synergies between the two companies will enable it to quickly reduce a “significant” portion of the acquisition-related debt. Gulf Canada has extensive assets in Canada, as well as Indonesia and Southeast Asia. The deal gives Conoco a 50% boost in its North American natural gas production and proved natural gas reserves to 1.4 Bcf/d and 4.1 Tcf net, respectively. North American liquids production (crude oil, syncrude and natural gas liquids) will more than double, and proved North American liquids reserves (including syncrude) will more than triple.

Pure Resources Inc. announced Wednesday that its subsidiary, Pure Resources II Inc., has successfully completed its initial tender offer and subsequent offering period for all of the outstanding shares of Hallwood Energy Corp. common stock at a price of $12.50 per share and all the outstanding shares of Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock of Hallwood Energy at a price of $10.84 per share. As of May 15, Pure Resources reported that it had accepted for payment approximately 86% of Hallwood Energy’s common stock and 81% of the company’s Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock. Pure Resources first reported the $268 million acquisition of Hallwood Energy in early April (see Daily GPI, April 2). The companies said completion of the merger would occur as soon as practicable. Pure Resources is an independent exploration and production company that develops and produces oil and natural gas in the Permian Basin, the San Juan Basin, the Gulf Coast, and the Gulf of Mexico. Denver-based Hallwood Energy is a public oil and gas company with properties primarily located in the Permian Basin, the San Juan Basin, South Texas and onshore South Louisiana.

NiSource Inc. has extended its $74/share ($6.1 billion) tenderoffer for all of the outstanding common stock of Columbia Energyuntil midnight EST on Feb. 11. despite seeing little change in thenumber of shares tendered or the reaction of Columbia since itraised its offer in October. It said that so far Columbiashareholders have tendered 49,645,081 shares, or about 61% of allColumbia’s outstanding stock. Columbia’s management has repeatedlyrejected a merger with NiSource, and currently is evaluating alloptions, including a sale of all or part of the company.

In an effort to grow its nonregulated business sector, ColumbiaEnergy Group’s Columbia Propane Corp. recently announced a tenderoffer to acquire National Propane Partners for $80.4 million. Theoffer expires April 9. National Propane shareholders will vote inearly May.