• Chevron Corp. plans to complete its merger with Texaco Inc., now that it has divested some of its downstream assets in a sale to Royal Dutch/Shell and Saudi Aramco. The new company will be ChevronTexaco and will have reserves of 11.2 billion BOE, daily production of 2.7 million BOE and assets of $77 billion. • Westport Resources Corp., Denver, has acquired Belco Oil & Gas Corp. for approximately $866 million, including the assumption of $523 million of long-term debt, convertible preferred stock and a hedge portfolio. Westport has estimated proved reserves of approximately 1.1 trillion cu. ft. equivalent, 54% gas. • Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, has completed the merger with Cody Co., the parent company of Cody Energy LLC, for $181 million cash and 2 million shares of Cabot common, with a value of $24.97 per share. The deal value is $230 million. The cash portion was funded by a private placement of debt. Cody has 166 billion cu. ft. equivalent of proved reserves. • Coho Energy Inc., Dallas, plans to sell its Mississippi oil and gas assets to an undisclosed third party for $80 million. The properties, primarily in the Brookhaven, Laurel, Martinville and Soso fields, produced 5,205 BOE per day in the second quarter of 2001. At Dec. 31, the assets contained approximately 30 million BOE of net proved reserves, approximately 30% of Coho's net proved reserves. • Amerada Hess Corp., New York City, has acquired from EEX Corp., Houston, a 27.5% nonoperated interest in the Llano Field on Garden Banks blocks 385 and 386 in the Gulf of Mexico for $50 million plus a royalty interest. Amerada Hess estimates the field contains gross proved and probable reserves of 125 million BOE. EEX will retain its interest in Garden Bank blocks 344, 387, 388 and 345. Separately, EEX Corp. has sold its nonoperating interest in the Sheridan Field in south Texas to Hilcorp Energy I LP for $8.7 million. Current production is approximately 12 million cu. ft. per day. The proceeds will be used to increase EEX's investment in its onshore business to approximately $100 million for 2001. • Magnum Hunter Resources Inc., Irving, Texas, has acquired Delaware Basin oil and gas reserves and related assets in Eddy and Lea counties of southeast New Mexico from Mallon Resources Corp. for $31.3 million. The assets had proved reserves of 41.8 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent at year-end 2000. The acquisition includes Mallon's interest in 23 fields consisting of 141 producing wells and 13,742 net mineral acres. Magnum Hunter's wholly owned subsidiary, Gruy Petroleum Management Co., became operator of 59 of the 141 producing wells. The package consists of approximately 27% oil and 73% gas. Mallon applied approximately $24 million of the proceeds to reduce its debt to Aquila Energy Capital Corp. approximately 47%. • Norsk Hydro USA Oil & Gas Inc. and Conoco Inc. have entered into a joint venture for Norsk Hydro to acquire 25% working interest participation in five firm and three contingent exploration wells in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Norsk Hydro has been assigned title interest in 55 leases covering the prospect areas. • Nexen Inc., Calgary, will acquire interests in four leases in the Vermilion Block 76 Field for US$39.7 million. The field is in 35 feet of water southwest of Lafayette, La. The interests are comprised of 17,500 net acres and are producing 17 million cu. ft. of gas and 90 bbl. of oil per day. Nexen estimates the proved reserves of the leases to be 37.2 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent. Nexen will have a 100% interest in the leases and will be the operator. • Toreador Resources Corp., Dallas, and Madison Oil Co. have merged. The combined company has proved reserves of more than 12.62 million bbl. of oil and 15.94 billion cu. ft. of gas and interests in 4.8 million net undeveloped acres in the U.S., France, Turkey and Trinidad. • Ensign Operating Co. has purchased from Ocean Energy Inc. assets in seven fields in Colorado for $45 million. The assets produce approximately 2,100 BOE per day, 60% oil and 40% gas, with Ensign operating 45%. The assets will increase Ensign's daily production 60%. • Five States Energy Co., Dallas, has acquired producing interests in the Sand Hills Field in Crane County, Texas, for approximately $8.4 million. Oil production is primarily from the Tubb and McKnight reservoirs and gas production is from the Judkins formation. Proved producing reserves are 369,300 bbl. of oil, 3.13 billion cu. ft. of gas and 537,100 bbl. of gas liquids. • Kona Ltd., Houston, has completed the acquisition of Delmar Holdings LP from Parks & Luttrell Energy Partners. Delmar consists of 225 nonoperated producing oil and gas properties primarily in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The acquired assets have total net proved reserves of 4.25 billion cu. ft. of gas and 210,000 bbl. of oil. • Gastar Exploration Ltd., Mount Pleasant, Mich., has acquired coalbed-methane interests in the Powder River Basin equating to a 75% working interest in approximately 4,000 net acres of leases in the Squaw Creek area of Campbell County, Wyo, for US$1.6 million. The assets are currently being developed with two drilling rigs. Gastar expects to drill approximately 40 additional wells in this project area through the remainder of 2001. Separately, Gastar has acquired producing and exploratory leases in the Appalachian Basin in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The interests acquired include an up to 75% working interest in 11 pilot test wells, 200,000 acres of undeveloped leases as well as existing and new proprietary 2-D seismic data totaling nearly 300 miles. The pilot test wells have been recently drilled and are in the initial phases of production.