• Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, has acquired Mitchell Energy & Development Corp., The Woodlands, Texas, for 0.585 share of Devon common and the right to receive $31 cash, per share of Mitchell. The combined company has proved reserves of approximately 2 billion BOE, 60% gas. Production will be 68% gas and 95% in North America. The combined also holds more than 25 million net undeveloped acres, worldwide. • Vintage Petroleum Inc., Tulsa, Okla., reports it realized net proceeds of $47 million from the sale of various lower-tier U.S. assets, primarily through public auctions, during the fourth quarter of 2001. The number of wells involved totaled 780. More than 600 leases in 85 fields were sold, reducing Vintage's U.S. well and lease count by about one-third, U.S. production 6%, and total company production by about 2%. The assets had average operating costs of more than $10 per barrel of oil equivalent. Vintage expects to focus more on its remaining, high-graded properties and new growth areas. • Contango Oil & Gas Co., Houston, wholly owned subsidiary MOE Offshore Corp. purchased a 50% interest in Magnolia Offshore Exploration LLC for $5 million. Magnolia will explore in the Gulf of Mexico in less than 350 feet of water, utilizing 3-D seismic of 600 blocks. • El Paso Energy Partners LP, Houston, will trade its Gulf of Mexico Prince Field tension-leg platform and 9% overriding royalty interest in the field to El Paso Production Co. as part of a $750-million midstream-asset purchase from El Paso Corp., Houston. El Paso Energy will retain third-party marketing rights for remaining platform capacity and an option to repurchase the platform at the end of the field's life. • McMoRan Exploration Co., New Orleans, subsidiary McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC plans to sell three of its properties to an undisclosed company for $60 million. The sale is subject to a reversionary interest after payout. After payout, 75% of the interests sold revert to McMoRan. • GFB Acquisition-I LP, Midland, Texas, has acquired properties in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas from TransRepublic Resources Ltd. for approximately $40 million. • Thomas R. Bates Jr. has joined Lime Rock Partners, Westport, Conn., as a managing director. Bates began his career with Shell Oil Co. and currently serves on the boards of vMonitor Inc. and Rotary Steerable Tools Inc. • Westport Resources Corp. purchased producing properties in the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Montana for approximately $38.7 million. Westport estimates total proved reserves at 8.9 million BOE, 90% oil, and production of 2,300 BOE per day. Westport will operate more than 70% of the properties. • Samson Investment Co., Tulsa, acquired a 50%-operated working interest in the Valentine Field, Lafourche Parish, La., from PetroQuest Energy LLC, Lafayette, La., for $18.6 million. Samson has identified and plans to drill several wells on this leasehold, covered by an 86-square-mile 3-D seismic survey. Proven reserves total 7.3 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent. The field is producing approximately 5.75 million cu. ft. equivalent per day, net. • Goodrich Petroleum Corp., Houston, plans to sell interests in its Burrwood and West Delta 83 fields for $12 million to an investor group led by Patrick E. Malloy III and participated in by Sheldon Appel, both members of the board. The company will retain a 65% working interest in the existing production and shallow rights, and a 32.5% working interest in the deep rights. The buyer will provide a two-year $5-million line of credit. • Harken Energy Corp., Houston, plans to acquire interests in properties onshore Texas and Louisiana from Republic Resources Inc., Grand Junction, Colo., for approximately 2.65 million in Harken common stock and enter into a contingent-payment agreement to evaluate the unproved assets. The assets associated with the contingent-payment agreement include most of the exploratory prospects in Jackson County, Texas, including Elks Hills No. 1. • Imperial Petroleum Inc., Evansville, Ind., and Warrior Resources Inc., Dallas, formerly Comanche Energy Inc., plan to merge for one share of Imperial per 10 shares of Warrior. Warrior's properties are onshore primarily in east and central Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi. • St. Mary Land & Exploration Co., Denver, plans to acquire producing properties and an 89-mile gas-gathering system in the Arkoma Basin, Okla., from Merchant Resources #1 LP, Houston, for $7.75 million in cash. The properties produce 1.2 million cu. ft. of gas and 65 bbl. of oil per day. • Samson Investment Co., Tulsa, Okla., acquired gas properties in Starr County, Texas, from Texas Independent Exploration Ltd. • Regent Energy Corp., Houston, plans to acquire operations in Hospha, N.M., from BC&D Oil & Gas for $4.25 million consisting of $2.5 million cash and $1.75 million worth of stock, with the number of shares determined at closing, plus an additional 200,000 shares. • Westfort Energy Ltd., Jackson, Miss., plans to purchase the interests of Field Management LLC, Cedarhill Operating Co. LLC and their associated companies in Gilbertown and West Barrytown fields, Choctaw County, Ala., and Junction City Field, Clarke County, Miss., for $4 million. • Wyoming Oil & Minerals Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo., has acquired privately held New Frontier Energy Inc. for 8.56 million shares of its common stock. New Frontier owns leasehold interests in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Kansas. • Magnum Hunter Resources Inc., Irving, Texas, has entered into a joint-exploration agreement with Southwestern Energy Co., Houston, covering approximately 49,000 gross mineral acres in New Mexico. • Mitch Solich, former chief executive officer of Shenandoah Energy Inc., has formed Ox Bow Energy Corp., Denver. Shenandoah was sold to a subsidiary of Questar Corp., Salt Lake City, in July 2001. Ox Bow will focus on acquisition and exploitation in onshore basins including the Rocky Mountains, Midcontinent and Permian Basin. Geoff Solich, formerly with Cody Energy LLC will join Ox Bow as senior vice president of corporate development. Cody was sold to Cabot Oil & Gas in August 2001. • Network International, Houston, formerly NetworkOil, has formed a new division to provide investment-banking services, The Jillian Group. J. Kevin Bartol will be president. • The Wiser Oil Co., Dallas, plans to cease carbon-dioxide make-up injection in the Wellman Field in Terry County, Texas, where it has a 95% working interest, and prepare the field for blowdown. Wiser acquired the field in 1993 from Mobil Oil. • Layne Christensen Co., Mission Woods, Kan., plans to acquire a 50% working interest in 50,000 acres of undeveloped coalbed-methane acreage in the Forest City Basin, Kan., from Osborn Energy LLC. Layne Christensen and Mohajir Engineering Group Inc. have entered into a joint venture to find and develop gas, initially coalbed-methane and shale, in the Midcontinent, Rockies and Appalachian. Layne will be the lead through its subsidiary, Shawnee Oil & Gas LLC, and Mohajir will be the exclusive technical provider. • Empiric Energy Inc., Dallas, plans to acquire from Three Sisters Trust and Anderson Exploration Co. Inc. production and reserves in Vermilion and Acadia parishes, La., for $7.5 million, consisting of $3 million cash, $3 million in notes and 2 million in shares. Empiric will acquire a 25% working interest with an 18% net revenue interest in the wells, producing 11 million cu. ft. and 230 bbl. of oil per day. • NuWay Energy Inc., Irvine, Calif., plans to acquire Mendell Energy Technologies Inc., Denver, for stock. Mendell's major asset consists of approximately 95,000 acres of leases in Hill County, Mont., where it discovered a gas field, Atlantis. Mendell owns a 40% interest in the project. • Powder River Basin Gas Corp., Buffalo, Wyo., plans to acquire producing wells and leasehold interests in the Powder River Basin for cash and stock from Conquest Energy Services LLC. The interests include 26 wells producing approximately 230,000 cu. ft. of gas per day, each. • Soho Resources Corp., Vancouver, plans to acquire a 12.5% interest in a gas well and up to a 100% interest in certain gas leases totaling approximately 770 acres, within the Bossier sandstone gas play in Freestone County, Texas, from Gypsy Resources Corp., Olive Branch, Miss. • Ray Seegmiller, chairman and chief executive of Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, will retire and be replaced by the company's president, Dan Dinges. • Thomas D. Barrow resigned from the Nuevo Energy Co., Houston, board. James T. Jongebloed will replace Barrow for the rest of his term, which expires in May. Jongebloed was with Pool Energy Services Co. • Tartan Energy Inc., Calgary, shareholders approved the merger with Albatross Oil and Gas Co. Inc., Calgary, for one share of the combined company per 1.65 shares of Albatross, which holds interests in shallow oil and gas leases in the Lost Hills Field, San Joaquin Basin, Kern County, Calif. • BP Plc, London, will no longer make political donations anywhere in the world, the Associated Press reports BP chief executive officer John Browne said in a speech recently. He added that oil and other companies "should keep their distance from the political process" in part because of the Enron Corp. debacle, the news agency reports. Additionally, BP has changed the name of its Crazy Horse discovery in the Gulf of Mexico to "Thunder Horse," since the family of the Lakota warrior and spiritual leader "made BP aware that use of the name in this project is inappropriate," BP reports. In Lakota tradition it is sacrilegious to use the name outside of a spiritual context, BP reports. BP's decision was taken in consultation with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and Walden Asset Management, a money-management organization that concentrates on socially responsible investment. "The change was welcomed by both groups, and by the Lakota Nation," BP reports. Thunder Horse is the largest discovery to date in the Gulf of Mexico and is scheduled to begin production in 2005. BP is operator, with 75% equity interest. ExxonMobil Corp. owns the remaining 25%. • Denbury Resources Inc., Dallas, sold its claim in bankruptcy against Enron Corp., Houston, and its subsidiaries for net proceeds of $9.2 million. The claim relates mainly to gas hedges Denbury purchased from Enron for 2002-03 relating to its purchase of Matrix Oil & Gas. Denbury paid $18 million for the hedges. • Allis-Chalmers Corp., Houston, has acquired Jens Oilfield Services Inc. and Strata Directional Technology Inc. for cash, stock and a promissory note. Energy Spectrum Partners LP, Dallas, was Strata's largest shareholder, and now owns 34% of Allis-Chambers and is its largest shareholder. • Black Warrior Wireline Corp., Columbus, Miss, has acquired Big Gun Perforating Inc., Gloster, La.