• The C$300-million merger of Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd. and Ventus Energy Ltd. has been cancelled. No reason was given. • El Paso Corp. wholly owned subsidiary El Paso Oil & Gas Canada Acquisition Inc. has acquired Velvet Exploration Ltd. for approximately C$341.5 million. The majority of Velvet's properties are in the highly prospective Foothills and Deep Basin areas of western Alberta. Velvet has 172 billion cu. ft. equivalent of net proved reserves, 59% gas. • PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd., Calgary, acquired Causeway Energy Corp. for C$65 million and the assumption of C$4 million of debt. The acquired company's assets include properties in northern Montana and southern Saskatchewan, which include approximately 210,000 net acres of undeveloped land. It adds daily production of 8.5 million cu. ft. per day of gas, reserves of 80 billion cu. ft. of gas on a proven and one-half probable basis and a 100% interest in the crossborder Chinook Pipeline. As part of the transaction, Causeway sold its Medicine Lodge assets and its Palau concession to Bushmills Energy Corp. for C$13.5 million. Causeway shareholders will receive C$2.58 per share and 0.20 Bushmills share for each Causeway share held. • MarkWest Hydrocarbon Inc. has acquired two Calgary-based, privately owned independents, Leland Energy Canada Ltd. and Watford Energy Ltd., for US$51 million. The company will add 15 million cu. ft. of gas and 190 bbl. of oil per day to production and proved reserves of 26.4 billion cu. ft. equivalent. The acquisition adds more than 300 drillable locations and a net land base of more than 106,000 acres, 80% exploitable. • Shiningbank Energy Management Inc. has acquired a package of gas-producing properties and undeveloped land in west-central Alberta for approximately C$28.6 million. The properties include a mix of operated and nonoperated interests in the Greencourt, Paddle River, Windfall, Glenevis and Bigoray areas of west-central Alberta, adjacent to Shiningbank's existing operations in the Whitecourt and Anselmo areas. Current production is approximately 250 bbl. of oil and gas liquids and 5.4 million cu. ft. of gas per day. The gas, 77% of total production, is not contracted and will be sold in the spot market. The acquisition also includes 23,000 net acres of prospective undeveloped land valued at C$2.1 million. Established reserves are 14.2 billion cu. ft. of natural gas, 148,000 bbl. of oil and 510,000 bbl. of gas liquids. Proven reserves represent approximately 88% of the total. • Kicking Horse Resources Ltd., Vancouver, has sold its nonoperated oil and gas properties in the Golden area of Alberta for C$2.2 million. Separately, it and PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc., receiver-manager of Probe Exploration Inc., agreed to extend the closing of the acquisition of the Leduc oil and gas assets until Oct. 30, 2001, to complete various closing and other matters. The gross purchase price of the Leduc assets is C$72.5 million. • Shenandoah Resources Ltd. and a joint-venture partner have canceled plans to purchase a producing gas property in southwest Saskatchewan for C$22.6 million. Shenandoah was to have the right to acquire up to 50% interest in the property.