USA and Canada


BP announced today that it has reached agreement to sell its recently acquired interests in four mature producing deepwater oil and gas fields in the US Gulf of Mexico to Marubeni Oil and Gas for $650 million.

BP acquired the interests in the Magnolia, Merganser, Nansen and Zia fields from Devon Energy earlier in 2010 as part of a wider acquisition of assets in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and Azerbaijan.


Thompson Creek Metals has emerged as the sole owner of Terrane Metals Corp. after closing transactions with Goldcorp and Terrane shareholders.

Goldcorp will receive an aggregate of C$240.5 million in cash plus 13.9 million common shares of Thompson Creek (representing approximately 8 percent of Thompson Creek's issued and outstanding shares).

Terrane Metals is an exploration and mine development company focused on the development of the Mt. Milligan copper-gold and Berg copper-molybdenum-silver projects in British Columbia, Canada.


With possibly the lowest entry costs of any business, the cleaning industry is continually squeezed on price, but companies such as Mid-American Cleaning Contractors are trying to provide better value in other ways, as Alan Swaby learns.

 


As the US private-sector economy has stalled, more businesses are seeking to win more work from federal, state and local governments. SM&A has made helping companies do just that its one and only business for the past 28 years. Keith Regan learns how the company is adapting to new market realities to help clients prepare for, win and effectively complete government contracts.

 


Denver-based oil and gas exploration and production company Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp, is extending its assets in the Williston Basin of North Dakota.

The company has announced a definitive purchase and sale agreement with a private oil and gas company to acquire high-working-interest, contiguous Bakken/Three Forks Williston Basin leasehold and producing properties for $99 million in cash and the direct issuance of 2.75 million shares of common stock to the seller at a price of $4.00 per share.  


Harbour Group announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell Lincoln Holdings Enterprises Inc. to Sweden-based SKF Group.

Lincoln is based in St. Louis, Missouri, where it was founded 100 years ago. A leader in the design, manufacture, and service of lubrication systems and equipment, its products include centralized and automated lubrication systems, lubrication tools and equipment, and material-dispensing equipment for high viscosity materials.


Northeast Utilities and NSTAR have agreed to merge in a deal that will form New England's premier utility company, worth $17.5 billion.

The companies have described the deal as a merger of equals, but if it goes through it will retain the Northeast Utilities name. NU shareholders would own approximately 56 percent and NSTAR shareholders would own approximately 44 percent of the combined company.


Nova Scotia's main energy regulator has given a $208 million biomass project the green light.

Nova Scotia Power and NewPage Port Hawkesbury had asked the board to approve a plan to burn 650,000 tonnes of wood a year to fire a steam generator at a paper mill in Cape Breton.

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Boardhas now said that the project can proceed, but it outlined several conditions in an effort to protect customers from footing the bill for any overrunning costs or a plant failure.


Global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is to give the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) $25 million to research and develop high value, sustainable technologies to drive innovation in energy delivery.

The money, to be delivered in five annual payments of $5 million, will go to the MIT Energy Initiative, a program that conducts research aimed at transforming the way the world obtains and uses its energy.