• XTO Energy Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, plans to acquire gas properties in Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico from The Williams Cos., Tulsa, Okla., for $400 million. The assets include properties in the Raton Basin in southern Colorado, the Hugoton Embayment of the Anadarko Basin in southwestern Kansas, and nonoperated San Juan Basin properties in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado. The Raton Basin assets include 100% working interests in 54,317 acres, net, of coalbed-methane leasehold containing 191 producing wells. Proved reserves are estimated at 121 billion cu. ft. of gas, 66% developed, in Las Animas County, Colo. Gas sales total about 23 million cu. ft. per day, net. The Hugoton Field assets include an average 84% working interest in 109,819 net developed acres with 341 operated wells. Proved reserves are estimated at 107 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent, 98% developed, concentrated in southwestern Kansas. Daily production is approximately 24 million cu. ft. of gas per day. The San Juan Basin assets include working interests from 1% to 68% on 15,132 acres, net. Proved reserves are approximately 83 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent, 67% developed, in San Juan and Rio Arriba counties of New Mexico and LaPlata County of Colorado. Daily production is estimated at 13 million cu. ft. of gas per day, net, of which 5 million cu. ft. is coalbed methane. The assets produce approximately 60 million cu. ft. of gas per day, net. Reserves were approximately 311 billion cu. ft. of gas at year-end 2002. Separately, Berry Petroleum Co., Bakersfield, Calif., plans to buy properties in Brundage Canyon, Utah, from The Williams Cos., Tulsa, Okla., for $49 million. The assets consist of about 43,500 net acres and produce 2,200 BOE per day. Reserves are estimated at 8.6 million bbl. of oil. • Evergreen Resources Inc., Denver, plans to acquire Carbon Energy Corp., Denver, for $84.4 million in stock plus debt, for a total deal value of $90.8 million. Carbon stockholders will receive 0.275 share of Evergreen for each Carbon share. The assets include gas-producing fields in the Piceance Basin, Colo., the Uintah Basin, Utah, and central Alberta and southeast Saskatchewan. Carbon operates substantially all of its properties. U.S. gas reserves are estimated at 57 billion cu. ft., net; Canadian, 31 billion cu. ft., net. The assets are estimated to contain 88 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent of proved reserves, primarily gas. Current daily net gas production is 13 million cu. ft. Separately, Carbon Energy Corp., Denver, sold its interests in 97 gross wells (23 net wells) and 25,400 gross acres (8,200 net acres) primarily in southeast New Mexico for $15.8 million in cash. Net proved reserves at Dec. 31 were 7.3 billion cu. ft. of gas and 172,000 bbl. of oil. Daily average net production is approximately 3.27 million cu. ft. of gas and 130 bbl. of oil. • Occidental Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles, has acquired assets in the Permian Basin in three acquisitions totaling a net cost of $235 million. Occidental operates a majority of the interests. Daily production is 10,000 BOE per day. Proved reserves are estimated at 73 million BOE. The price per BOE of proved reserves is $3.20, according to Occidental. • Nexen Inc., Calgary, has acquired a 40% interest in the Aspen Field in the Gulf of Mexico and the remaining interests in five exploration blocks in the greater Aspen area from BP for US$136 million, increasing its interests to 100%. Aspen came onstream in December 2002, and is in 3,150 feet of water on Green Canyon Block 243. The deal makes Aspen a deep-Gulf operator. The assets increase Nexen's exploration acreage in the area to more than 80,000 net acres and its share of field production by 11,600 BOE per day. Current production is approximately 29,000 BOE per day, 15% gas. • Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Dallas, has acquired the remaining interest in 32 blocks in the Falcon area in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, including the Falcon Field and the Harrier discovery in East Breaks 758 and 759, from Mariner Energy Inc., Houston, for $113 million in cash, net. The assets include related satellite prospects. Mariner will retain a 4.25% overriding royalty interest on seven nonproducing blocks in the Falcon area. Pioneer now owns a 100% working interest in the Harrier Field with estimated reserves of 55- to 80 billion cu. ft. of gas. The Pioneer-operated Falcon Field is producing approximately 185 million cu. ft. of gas and 650 bbl. of condensate per day. • Energen Corp., Birmingham, Ala., subsidiary Energen Resources Corp. has acquired an estimated 93 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent of coalbed-methane proved reserves in the San Juan Basin in two transactions totaling $39 million. Energen will operate the properties. Approximately 36% of the reserves are proved developed and 64% are proved undeveloped. Probable reserves are estimated at 75 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent, primarily gas. Separately, Energen sold approximately 17.4 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent of proved reserves to a variety of parties for $15.9 million. • American Energy Operations Inc. has acquired the Union Island Field in the Sacramento Basin, Calif., from Nuevo Energy Co., Houston, for $10.5 million. This was Nuevo's only property in this basin. Nuevo was operator with a 98% interest. Average production was 2.9 million cu. ft. of gas per day in 2002, 1% of Nuevo's total production. • Dallas-based Castleguard Energy has sold its interests in two properties in the Mings Chapel Field, Uphsur County, Texas, to Denver-based Medicine Bow Energy Corp. Proceeds will be used to pay down debt and fund additional exploration and development in other areas. Separately, Medicine Bow plans to acquire all of the shares of Ensign Oil & Gas Inc., Calgary, held by the Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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