Devon Energy Corp.'s winning bid for Dallas-based Chief Oil & Gas is among several high-priced U.S. asset acquisitions announced in the weeks preceding press time. Devon will pay Chief some $3.57 per thousand cubic feet equivalent (Mcfe) of proved Barnett Shale reserves. Devon is the No. 1 producer in the play, and sources believed a major oil company or another significant independent player in the Fort Worth Basin, such as XTO Energy Inc. or Chesapeake Energy Corp., would vie for taking the lead. It seems the assets are worth the most to Devon, which plans to further consolidate its hold on the play and has shut out other bidders. The Devon deal price is a fairly pure assessment, too: Crosstex Energy Inc. is paying $480 million for Chief's gas-gathering and other midstream assets in the Barnett play, so Devon is acquiring only the E&P assets. Altogether, the Chief package, marketed by Petrie Parkman & Co., has fetched some $2.7 billion. Original industry guesstimates were that the assets would go for around $2 billion, which was based on an average of roughly $3 per proved Mcfe. That was top of the market when the Chief exit was announced in early 2006. (For more details on this and several other recent M&A deals, see "Company Briefs" in this issue.) In the Gulf of Mexico, Apache Corp. has bid $1.3 billion for BP's shelf assets, totaling proved reserves of 347 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent (Bcfe). The deal value is $3.75 per proved Mcfe. Plains Exploration & Production Co. is buying Stone Energy Corp. and its 594 Bcfe of proven reserves located mostly in the Gulf of Mexico and the balance in the Rockies. The price per proved Mcfe is $3.27. Onshore the Gulf Coast, Petrohawk Energy Corp. expects to double in size via its merger with KCS Energy Inc., adding 463 Bcfe of proved reserves, particularly in North Louisiana. The price Petrohawk will pay is $3.21 per proved Mcfe. Japan-based Mitsui & Co. Ltd. plans to buy half of Pogo Producing Co.'s interests in the Gulf of Mexico for $500 million, involving some 143 Bcfe of proved reserves. The deal price is $3.50 per proved Mcfe. Tom L. Ward plans to acquire a majority stake of privately held Riata Energy Inc. for $500 million, gaining a 57% stake in some 309 Bcfe of proved reserves in Texas and Colorado. Ward is offering $2.86 per proved Mcfe for the position. And, Range Resources Corp. plans to buy Stroud Energy Inc.'s proved 171 Bcfe in Texas and Oklahoma for approximately $456 million, representing an offer of $2.67 per proved Mcfe. The cost of proved reserves improves in the Appalachian Basin. Exco Resources Inc. subsidiary North Coast Energy Inc. has acquired Power Gas Marketing & Transmission Inc.'s 162 Bcfe for $115 million, representing $0.71 per proved Mcfe. The stock-based transactions are somewhat no-lose: if natural gas prices decline significantly, so would have the seller's stock price. The cash offers are unrecoverable. Devon is betting heavily on its Barnett project economics, and Gulf of Mexico operators are expecting strong oil and gas prices. Houston-based Simmons & Co. International reports that a minimum $6.60 natural gas price is needed for profitable unconventional gas plays these days. (For more on this, see "NewsWell" in this issue.)