Valued

Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (CB&I) said Tuesday it was awarded a contract valued at more than $100 million for the design and construction of storage tanks for Canada’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.

J.P. Morgan has agreed to pay Enron Corp. at least $350 million in an overall deal valued at $1 billion, and Toronto Dominion Bank has agreed to pay at least $70 million in cash, to settle claims that the two banks assisted the bankrupt company’s former management to defraud shareholders and creditors.

On completion of an extensive bid evaluation process, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) said it has accepted high bids valued at $342,027,467 for 403 tracts offered in Oil and Gas Lease Sale 194 and awarded leases to the successful high bidders. Fifty-seven percent of the tracts receiving bids were in shallow waters of less than 200 meters.

Last week’s thunderclap of news that Duke Energy Corp. agreed to acquire Cincinnati, OH-based Cinergy Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at about $9 billion, following on the heels of Exelon’s pending acquisition of Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), is a “key signpost” that the energy industry is firmly on the road to recovery and that the process of rationalizing the industry for the next stage of growth is under way, Colorado-based consultant Global Energy Decisions said last week.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last Wednesday accepted a settlement valued at nearly $500 million in which Mirant settled with various California parties and FERC staff on a wide range of issues stemming from the 2000-2001 energy crisis in the West.

Denver-based Cimarex Energy Co. announced that it will buy Irving, TX-based producer Magnum Hunter Resources in a stock deal valued at about $1.96 billion, including the assumption of $645 million in Magnum Hunter debt and $15 milion from Magnum Hunter’s share in the TEL Offshore Trust. The purchase price amounts to about a 15-20% premium compared to where Magnum Hunter’s shares had been trading prior to the announcement.

Denver-based Cimarex Energy Co. announced that it will buy Irving, TX-based producer Magnum Hunter Resources in a stock deal valued at $1.94 billion as of Wednesday morning, including the assumption of $645 million in Magnum Hunter debt.

The transaction is valued at $2.3 billion. Ameren assumed about $1.8 billion in IP debt and preferred stock, placed $100 million in a six-year escrow account for contingent environmental liabilities, and it paid the balance in cash to Dynegy.

Two Tulsa-based independents, Unit Corp. and PetroCorp, agreed to merge Tuesday in a combination stock-and-cash deal valued at $190 million. In the transaction, the gas-heavy Unit will acquire PetroCorp’s 55 Bcfe of proved reserves using two million of its shares and cash on hand.