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Gold/Mining/Energy : KERM'S KORNER -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (7984)	12/17/1997 6:15:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 15196

MEDIA / Suncor Energy Launches Flare Gas Project December 17, 1997 Geoffrey Scotton - Calgary Sun Calgary's Suncor Energy Inc. has launched a pilot project that could help produce power from discarded flare gas across Alberta. Suncor, best known for its Fort McMurray oilsands operations, and Mercury Electric Corp. will investigate the use of mini-turbines to generate electricity from unprocessed gas. Across the province, enough gas is vented and flared each day to produce enough power to support a city the size of Calgary, Henk Wind, Suncor's vice-president of production, said yesterday. "This project is one small step towards capturing the value of this energy source and reducing our net greenhouse emissions," Wind said. Calgary-based Mercury will test the mini-turbine technology, known as the TurboGenerator, in 1998 at Suncor's Joffre gas plant near Red Deer. Mercury, a private company founded in 1995 with Canadian oilfield rights to the TurboGenerator technology, is planning to test the equipment at different locations and with different firms. "In addition to the Suncor site, we are pursuing test sites with other major Canadian energy companies," said Mercury president Richard Kline. Kline's firm will provide the small scale gas-fired generation facility for the pilot, as well as provide on-site support and maintenance. Suncor will provide the unprocessed fuel, and in return, will receive the power generated by the facility. "The technology is still in the early stages of development," said Wind. "But if it can be applied at our facilities, it may be a method of addressing greenhouse gas issues while cost-effectively powering our operations."

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (7984)	12/17/1997 6:32:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15196

MEDIA / TransCanada Pipelines Sues over Alleged Pipeline Promise HALIFAX (CP) - A Calgary-based company that lost its bid to bring gas from Sable Island, N.S., ashore is suing the province claiming it had a 1983 promise it could build the pipeline. In a statement of claim filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. says it spent more than $18 million on the project, but that's only the beginning of what the company is now seeking from the province. In addition to general damages for breach of contract and breach of a joint venture, TransCanada wants the profits it could have earned from the project and a declaration that the 1983 agreement remains enforceable. "It really does come down to asking for compensation for the money we spent and the lost opportunity," TransCanada spokesman Tony McCallum said Tuesday. TransCanada maintains it reached a 1983 deal with Nova Scotia Resources Ltd., a provincially owned Crown corporation, to design, construct, own and operate a pipeline to deliver gas to the Maritimes and the United States. The suit claims the province entered into a joint venture with TransCanada which has not been fulfilled. "Neither the province nor (Nova Scotia Resources) has given notice of termination of the agreement, nor attempted to bring about termination of the joint venture and partnership thereby created," says the suit. Nova Scotia Resources and TransCanada set up a regional pipeline company called Sable Gas Systems Ltd., which opened a local office, hired staff, produced reports, and prepared a draft submission to the National Energy Board, says the lawsuit. But in 1989 the partners decided the time was not right to bring gas ashore and the project was put off with hopes that it could be done in the late 1990s, says TransCanada. McCallum said TransCanada found out through news reports in 1995 that the province was again interested in Sable gas. When the company learned the Nova Scotia government was negotiating with new partners, it reminded the province of the 1983 agreement, he said. "The province ignored our reminders and continued to negotiate," he said. The suit claims the new Sable Offshore Energy Project proposed an offshore pipeline - the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline - that was almost the same as the TransCanada project. The new proponents include Mobil Oil Canada, Shell Canada, Petro-Canada, Imperial Oil Resources and Nova Scotia Resources Ltd. Through the Crown corporation's involvement in the Maritimes and Northeast project, the province breached its agreement with TransCanada, says the suit. It also alleges the province misused confidential information provided by TransCanada to support the new pipeline project. In March, TransCanada teamed up with Montreal's Gaz Metropolitan to file an 11th hour pipeline submission to the National Energy Board. It lost out to Maritimes and Northeast, which received the approval of a federal-provincial joint review panel in October. Its appeal was dismissed a week ago. Premier Russell MacLellan said TransCanada's suit is "unjustified. "However, they've decided that they're going to proceed with at least the originating notice. I'm hoping that down the road they'll drop the charges." MacLellan said the province will file a defence soon.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (7984)	12/17/1997 6:55:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15196

MEDIA / Solv-Ex Still Wrestling With Its Creditors Fort McMurray Today More than $28.2 million in claims from Canadian creditors have been received by Solv-Ex Corporation, but the troubled oilsands developer says it's willing to acknowledge less than half of that amount -- approximately $12.8 million Cdn. When Solv-Ex first filed for court protection from its Canadian creditors in mid-July, the New Mexico-based company acknowledged $3.5 million US of liens were filed against its experimental oilsands site north of Fort McMurray and about $7.3 million US. in unsecured claims. Recent court documents filed by Calgary-based Price Waterhouse, an accounting firm appointed by the Canadian court to look out for Canadian creditors, show of the $12.8 million Cdn Solv-Ex says it'll pay, approximately $6.5 million Cdn are secured claims and $6.2 million Cdn are unsecured. South of the border, the number of US claims against Solv-Ex total more than $39.4 million US. But Solv-Ex has agreed to approve only a fraction of those unsecured claims -- $480,037 US -- saying it doesn't recognize claims totalling about $38.9 million US. The current claims listed in the report doesn't include a $33-million US convertible debenture from a European company called PheMex Establishment. The court document filed in the Calgary Court of Queen's Bench indicates Solv-Ex continues to "negotiate and reach settlements with claimants." About 40 claimants haven't contested their disallowance since Dec. 9, said the report, while 50 have settled and the remainder of the claims will be reviewed in American or Canadian proceedings. The documents also show that mediations will be conducted in Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray to settle claims worth less than $20,000. Details of the how this will work haven't been announced, but more information is expected to be made public in late January. "We return to court Jan. 27 to deal with claims issues," Price Waterhouse spokesperson Julie Murray said Monday. If negotiations fail to be reached with claimants owed more than $20,000, Murray said the court will ultimately decide the claim amount. Associated Engineering of Edmonton said Solv-Ex owes it in excess of $1 million. In early November, the company was one of many approached by a New York company offering to buy the debt. Gord Lehto, Associated's vice-president of industry, said the company declined that offer. "We are waiting for the purchase by Koch," he said. Lehto said Solv-Ex has approved a"substantial portion" of the engineering firm's claim. Solv-Ex had protection for its Canadian creditors extended from Nov. 30 to Feb. 15. Further extensions will require the court's permission. Calgary-based Koch Exploration of Canada is in the process of buying Solv-Ex's assets for $30 million. It's not know what will happen if the approved claims from creditors exceed $30 million. Under offer to purchase Solv-Ex, Koch would own a 78-per-cent share of the company. Solv-Ex retains a 12-per-cent share and United Tri-Star Resources Ltd. of Toronto will hold 10 per cent. Koch Exploration is a subsidiary of Koch Industries, based in Wichita, Kansas, one of the largest privately held corporations in North America.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (7984)	12/17/1997 7:06:00 AM
From: Herb Duncan	Respond to of 15196

CORP / Odessa Petroleum Corporation: Options Granted VSE SYMBOL: OPC DECEMBER 16, 1997 VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--Subject to approval of the Vancouver Stock Exchange, the Company has granted to employees 61,675 incentive stock options exercisable, for a term of five years, at a price of $1.48 per share, being the average closing price of the Company's shares during the preceding ten trading days. Odessa Petroleum Corporation has earned an undivided 55 percent working interest, and may earn up to an 80 percent working interest in the Belolessky Block License, a 900 square kilometer area in Southwestern Ukraine, which permits the Company to explore, develop and produce hydrocarbons. On behalf of the Board, ODESSA PETROLEUM CORPORATION Peter P. Tsaparas, P. Eng., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer /T/ Shares Issued: 15,013,254 Fully Diluted: 19,113,254 Trading Symbol: VSE-OPC Cash Position: (Sept 30) $1.4 million 52 Week High-Low: $1.20 - $2.25 Cash Fully Diluted: $7.6 million S.E.C. 12g3-2(b) Exemption No 82-2353