• Transocean Sedco Forex Inc. and R&B Falcon Corp. are merging, which will form the world's third-largest oilfield service company-behind only Halliburton Co. and Schlumberger Ltd.-with a $17.7-billion equity market capitalization. (For more on this, see the full story in this issue of Oil and Gas Investor.) • Antara Resources Inc., Houston, has sold substantially all of its assets to Calpine Corp., San Jose, Calif. More than 90% of Antara's reserves were gas and most of the value is operated. Assets include 126 wells, 79,000 acres of undeveloped land and 195 potential drilling locations. Current production is approximately 10 million cu. ft. of gas equivalent per day. The majority of reserves are in the Piceance Basin, Garfield County, Colo.; Plaquemines Parish, La.; and Chambers County, Texas. Weisser, Johnson & Co. advised Antara. Calpine has made two other acquisitions, altogether adding 205 billion cu. ft. equivalent of proven gas reserves to its gas portfolio. The second transaction comprises three fields in the Gulf of Mexico and includes five drilling locations enhanced with 3-D seismic, one of which has already been successfully drilled. Current production is approximately 17 million cu. ft. of gas equivalent per day. The third is of Calgary-based Quintana Minerals Canada Corp., represented by Peters & Co. Ltd. Reserves are in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces, Canada, and assets include interests in 1,300 wells, and upside potential within 180,000 net acres of undeveloped land. Current production is 38 million cu. ft. of gas equivalent per day. • Kerr-McGee Corp., Oklahoma City, has acquired all of Statoil Exploration Inc.'s leasehold interests in 93 deepwater Gulf of Mexico blocks. The acquisition gives Kerr-McGee interests in 33 new leases and increases its current working interests from 33.33% to 66.67% in 60 other blocks, which are in 1,700 to more than 9,500 feet of water, in the Alaminos Canyon, Atwater Valley, Ewing Bank, Garden Banks, Green Canyon, Keathley Canyon and Walker Ridge areas. Kerr-McGee now holds interests in about 25 million deepwater acres offshore Australia, Brazil, Thailand, Gabon, Nova Scotia and the U.S. • EnerMark Income Fund, Calgary, is acquiring EBOC Energy Ltd., a private oil and gas producer based in Calgary, for C$155 million. A C$4-million compensation fee will be paid to EnerMark if the takeover is not completed as a result of a superior offer. EBOC's current daily production is approximately 4,000 BOE, comprised of 36 million cu. ft. of gas and 425 bbl. of liquids. The deal will increase EnerMark's production approximately 17%. EBOC's reserves consist of 171 billion cu. ft. of gas and 1.3 million bbl. of liquids, primarily proven producing and with a life index of 12.6 years. Approximately 60% are in the Benjamin Creek/Hunter Valley area, northwest of Calgary. • Encal Energy Ltd., Calgary, is acquiring a package of producing properties, undeveloped land, and processing and gathering facilities for C$110 million in the Medicine River/Sylvan Lake area of west-central Alberta from a major producer. The purchase will be funded by the sale of noncore assets and by entering into approximately C$90 million of new debt. • Meota Resources Corp., Calgary, has purchased certain assets of Merit Energy Ltd. for C$56.5 million from Arthur Andersen Inc., Merit receiver and manager. • Gastar Exploration Ltd. has acquired a 40% working interest and operatorship in a leasehold acreage position in the Cotton Valley Bossier Sand Gas play in central Texas from GeoStar Corp. for C$2.8 million payable in up to 304,120 Gastar shares. Netherland Sewell & Associates, Dallas, estimates initial proved, probable and possible net reserves of 65 billion cu. ft. of gas for Gastar's interest in the Bossier leases. • Mariner Energy Inc., Houston, will acquire Shell Exploration & Production Co.'s 50% working interest in the King Kong deepwater Gulf of Mexico development project in approximately 3,900 feet of water in Green Canyon blocks 472, 473 and 517. Terms were not disclosed. Mariner will become operator of the project. Agip Petroleum Co. Inc. owns the remaining working interest. • Shenandoah Energy Inc., Denver, has completed a noncore asset divestiture program that began in March: 425 fractional interests in wells in six states for $9.2 million. Divested proven reserves total 11.3 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent, for a sale price of 82 cents per thousand cu. ft. equivalent. Meagher Oil & Gas Properties Inc. acted as agent. • Houston-based Michael Petroleum Corp. has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with bank-debt and private-equity recapitalization totaling $107 million. New ownership is 95% held by MPAC Energy LLC, an entity owned by affiliates of EnCap Investments LLC and El Paso Energy, and Wayland Investment Fund, an affiliate of Cargill. Michael Petroleum's new $75-million credit facility was provided by Bank One, Banque Paribas, Union Bank of California and Bank of Scotland. F. Fox Benton Jr., MPAC chairman, will serve as chairman of Michael Petroleum. Other board members are Gary R. Petersen and Robert L. Zorich of EnCap, Blake M. Carlson of Wayland, and Charles M. Strain, a Houston-based industry consultant. • Bridgetown Energy Corp., Calgary, is acquiring certain assets from PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc., receiver for Probe Exploration Inc., for approximately C$8.2 million. The acquisition includes a 92% working interest in a property in southern Alberta. Current daily production averages 520 BOE consisting of 430 bbl. of oil and 850,000 cu. ft. of gas. A Gilbert Laustsen Jung Associates Ltd. report assigns reserves of 1.95 million BOE of which 1.57 million are proven. • High River Ltd. Partnership, a company owned by Carl Icahn, has purchased the 2 million Panaco Inc., Houston, shares previously owned by New Valley Corp. Icahn affiliates now own 6.5 million Panaco shares or 26.9%. Richard Lampen has resigned from Panaco's board. George Hebard, an Icahn Associates Corp. executive, has replaced Lampen. • Greka Energy Corp. has sold its Canadian subsidiary, Beaver Lake Resources Corp., resulting in Greka's divestment of all its noncore Canadian oil and gas assets. The sale allows Greka to focus on its core assets in California, Louisiana and China. • Seitel Inc., Houston, subsidiary DDD Energy Inc. has sold its interest in three South Texas producing properties in Nueces, Starr and Victoria counties to Dominion Exploration & Production Inc., formerly known as CNG Producing Co., for $16.9 million, cash. The properties represent 3% of DDD's reserves and are producing 5.5 million cu. ft. of gas equivalent per day. • Key Production Co. Inc., Denver, will acquire Columbus Energy Corp. for 1.3 million common shares. Columbus shareholders will own approximately 10% of the combined company. They will receive 0.355 share of Key common per Columbus share, in a tax-free reorganization. Columbus' has approximately 16 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent of proven reserves, 98% of it proved developed and 66% gas. Key's 2001 average daily production will be approximately 6 million cu. ft. of gas and 350 bbl. of oil, after the acquisition. Arthur Andersen LLP Global Energy Corporate Finance Group was financial advisor to Columbus. • Redwood Energy Ltd., Calgary, will acquire Garran Oil & Gas Ltd., a private oil and gas company, for C$15 million in cash and stock, and a bonus of up to C$2 million tied to production revenues during the next five years. Redwood will issue a minimum of 6 million common shares. Garran has one major property-at Rosevear, Alberta-consisting of working interests ranging from 12% to 40% in 13,120 gross acres of land and 15 gas wells. All but one of the wells are operated by Garran. Current production net to the working interest is 1.5 million cu. ft. per day of gas. • Probex Corp., Dallas, an energy technology company, has engaged Jefferies & Co. Inc. as financial advisor, and has moved its headquarters from Carrollton, Texas, to Dallas. • CenAlta Energy Services Inc., Calgary, has engaged FirstEnergy Capital Corp. to explore strategic alternatives.