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

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:32:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

PRESS RELEASE / Lodestar Energy Inc & Torrington Resources Ltd. 1998-02-10 CALGARY, ALBERTA LODESTAR ENERGY INC. and TORRINGTON RESOURCES LTD. jointly announce that the proposed amalgamation between Lodestar and a wholly owned subsidiary of Torrington, as previously announced, has been approved by both the holders of Lodestar's Class A shares and Class B shares at separate shareholders' meeting held today. A total of 99.9% of the Lodestar Class A shares voted at the Class A shareholders' meeting and a total of 100% of the Lodestar Class B shares voted at the Class B shareholders' meeting voted in favour of the amalgamation. Under the terms of the amalgamation, holders of Lodestar Class A Shares will be entitled to receive $1.15 cash for each Class A Share held, and holders of Lodestar Class B Shares shall be entitled to receive for each Class B Share held, at their election, 0.6 of a Torrington Common Share or $3.00, subject to a maximum cash amount available to all holders of Class B Shares of $720,000. It is anticipated that the effective date of the amalgamation will occur on or about March 20, 1998 at which time Lodestar shareholders will be entitled to receive cash or Torrington common shares, or both, and the Class A shares and Class B shares of Lodestar will be delisted from the Alberta Stock Exchange. As the date on which completion of the amalgamation will occur could change, to avoid the deemed election provisions of the amalgamation, holders of Lodestar Class A Shares and/or Lodestar Class B shares are encouraged to complete and return as soon as possible the Letters of Transmittal and Election Forms, with respect to the elections described in Lodestar's Management Proxy Circular, along with their shares of Lodestar Shareholders are encouraged to review the Management Proxy Circular in this regard and to contact their brokers or investment advisors to arrange to make the elections. The completion of the amalgamation remains subject to fulfillment, or waiver, of a number of conditions, including compliance with regulatory requirements. Torrington is a public, Calgary-based oil and gas company. Torrington's Common Shares trade on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "TRN". Lodestar is a public, Calgary-based oil and gas company. Lodestar's Class A Shares and Class B Shares trade on the Alberta Stock Exchange under the symbols "LEI.A" and "LEI.B", respectively. For further information contact: Mr. Glenn Hockley, Chairman and OR Mr. Donald Krill, President Chief Executive Officer of Lodestar Energy Inc. Mr. A. Lee Anderson, President at (403) 262-6222 and Chief Operating Officer of Torrington at (403) 263-9767

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:36:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

FIELD ACTIVITIES / Grantham Resources Subsidiary to Bid For Oil Properties 1998-02-10 CALGARY, ALBERTA Contact: Eric Allen, President & CEO Phone (403) 263-7352 Facsimile (403) 234-7597 The Ecuador State oil company, Petroecuador, has announced a schedule for the sale of ten oil fields and has notified Grantmining S.A. that the company has pre-qualified to participate in the sale process. The schedule calls for bid submission during May and award during July. Petroecuador had announced earlier that 23 companies were approved to participate. Grantmining S.A. is a wholly owned Ecuadorean subsidiary of Grantham Resources Inc. It was established in Ecuador in 1996 to manage mineral land acquisitions and exploration. During the last year Grantmining has evaluated several oil and gas opportunities in Ecuador. "THE ALBERTA STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN" For further information contact: Eric Allen, President Grantham Resources Inc. Phone (403) 263-7352 Facsimile (403) 234-7597 520, 734 7th Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta T2P 3P8 www.granthamforgold.com

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:40:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

FINANCING / Stellarton Energy to issue Special Warrants CALGARY, Feb. 11 /CNW/ - Mr. R.D. (Bob) Steele, President of Stellarton Energy Corporation (''Stellarton''), announces that Stellarton has entered into a firm financing agreement with Bunting Warburg Inc. to issue 2,600,000 Special Warrants at a price of $4.05 per Special Warrant on a bought deal basis to raise gross proceeds of $10,530,000 ($12,150,000 if the Underwriter's option is exercised for an additional 400,000 Special Warrants). Each Special Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire, at no additional cost, one Class A voting share of Stellarton. Closing of the Special Warrant transaction is expected to occur on February 26, 1998. The financing is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals. Stellarton intends to use the proceeds from the offering to primarily finance the expansion of the Secure Oil Tools Division. Stellarton is traded on the Alberta Stock Exchange under the trading symbol (SRT.A). The Alberta Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:44:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

FIELD ACTIVITIES / Ram Petroleum Ltd. delays Logging of AIRU-1 Well Listed: The Toronto Stock Exchange Trading Symbol: RPL.A TORONTO, Feb. 11 /CNW/ - RAM PETROLEUMS LIMITED (''RAM''), announces that the AIRU-1 well, an indicated oil discovery in Ram's Rio Putumayo Association Contract block in southern Colombia, has not been logged on schedule. Ram has been informed by Schlumberger that a logistical problem encountered en route has delayed the arrival of the logging unit at the AIRU-1 location. Ram will begin moving 7'' casing onto the location today and will make an announcement when the logging unit arrives at the location, where Ram holds 100% of the working interest. Earlier this week, live oil was indicated by significantly increased background gas, natural fluorescence and strong fast streaming to blooming cut of samples within a gross interval of 105'. Mud logging and sampling was done by Geoservices Limited. Ram has used its own drilling rig, formerly Parker Drilling Rig No. 154, to drill the well.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:47:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

FINANCING / Occidental Petroleum to Redeem Preferred Stock LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 /CNW/ -- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY) today announced that it will redeem on March 13, 1998, all of the 11.5 million outstanding shares of its $3.875 cumulative convertible preferred stock at a call price of $51.9375 per share plus accumulated and unpaid dividends to the redemption date. Each share of $3.875 preferred stock is currently convertible at the option of the holder into approximately 2.2 shares of common stock of Occidental. The closing price of the common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on February 10, 1998, was $25.9375 per share. If all of the shares of $3.875 preferred stock were converted into common stock, Occidental would issue approximately 25 million shares of common stock. In late 1997, Occidental announced a 40 million share common stock repurchase program. Since then, approximately 10 million shares of Occidental common stock have been repurchased. Future repurchases are also expected to offset the effect of any common shares issued through the preferred stock conversion. Occidental's annual preferred stock dividend costs will decline by approximately $58 million after the redemption of the $3.875 preferred stock and the previously announced redemption of the $3.875 voting preferred stock. Notice of the redemption and instructions for delivery of the Preferred Stock certificates will be mailed today to all registered holders. ChaseMellon Shareholder Services, L.L.C. will act as redemption agent.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:49:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

FIELD ACTIVITIES / Pyramid Energy starts Drilling in Pakistan CALGARY, Feb. 11 /CNW/ - Pyramid Energy Inc. announces the start of its drilling operations in Pakistan. Through its Joint Venture with Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Pyramid is testing two large concession blocks, the Sadiqabad Block (1,028 sq. km., 255,000 acres) and Block 22 (2,422 sq. km, 600,000 acres). Seismic interpretation and mapping has revealed structures that could contain upwards of 1.0 Tcf of natural gas reserves. Well Daud X-1 commenced drilling on January 28, 1998 using Sedco Forex Rig No.25. At press time, the well was drilling at 667 meters towards its target depth of 3,175 meters. Three prospective zones are to be tested, the Habib Rahj formation at 810 meters, the Sui Main Limestone formation at 1,820 meters, and the Lower Goru formation at 2,950 meters. The well is expected to reach total depth around mid-April, 1998. Well Hamza X-1 commenced drilling on February 5, 1998 using IDECO Rig No.H-725. At press time, the well was drilling at 313 meters towards its target depth of 1,353 meters. The primary prospective zone is the Sui Main Limestone formation, expected to be encountered at 1,207 meters. The well is forecast to reach total depth around mid-March, 1998. Both the Daud X-1 and Hamza X-1 wells are being drilled in the gas prone area of the Mid Indus Basin of South Central Pakistan. The Sadiqabad block and Block 22 are offset by large gas fields ranging in size from 1 to 8 Tcf. Pakistan Petroleum is the operator of the Joint Venture with Pyramid participating at 15% in each of the two blocks. Pakistan Petroleum is a Government company and is the largest gas producer in Pakistan producing 800 MMscf/d or almost one half of the country's total gas production

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:51:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

ACQUISITION / Neutrino Resources acquires Further Working Interest CALGARY, Feb. 11 /CNW/ - Neutrino Resources Inc. today reported the closing of an agreement with a senior energy producer of Calgary, through which Neutrino acquired a further 22% interest in its operated Inverness light oilfield property at Swan Hills, Alberta. Neutrino's total working interest in the Inverness Unit is now approximately 95%. David Beckwermert, Executive Vice-President of Neutrino, reported ''Under the agreement which was effective November 1st, 1997, we arranged a swap with the other producer, whereby we gained the increased working interest in Inverness and relinquished a 27% working interest to them in our non-operated Handsworth oilfield in Saskatchewan.'' Mr. Beckwermert said, ''We are pleased we are able to increase our interest in a core operated property which is demonstrating considerable potential for Neutrino. To that end, we are planning the drilling of two additional horizontal re-entries as well as a number of re-completions in Inverness during the summer of 1998.'' Beckwerkmert reported Neutrino is currently into an aggressive winter drilling program which will see a minimum of five exploratory wells drilled. Daily production rates reached 3,501 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day at year end 1997, which met the company's target level. Neutrino is a Calgary-based emerging oil and gas, exploration and production company, Neutrino's common shares trade on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ''NTO''. For the latest company information, news and stock prices, visit us at our Web site: www.neutrino.net.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:55:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

FINANCING / Oxbow Exploration received Receipts for Final Prospectus CALGARY, Feb. 11 /CNW/ - OXBOW EXPLORATION INC. (ASE:OXB) announced it has received receipts for its final prospectus dated February 9, 1998 qualifying for distribution 13,500,000 Common Shares issuable on the exercise of 13,500,000 outstanding Special Warrants. The Special Warrants were issued on October 21, 1997 for total proceeds of $20,250,000. The proceeds were used to fund the purchase of oil and gas reserves, undeveloped land and seismic data from Samedan Oil of Canada, Inc. Oxbow has 39,163,000 Common Shares outstanding following the conversion of the Special Warrants. Oxbow is currently producing approximately 2,400 BOE/day weighted 70% oil and NGLs and 30% natural gas. Three core properties comprise 72% of the Company's average daily production. The Macoun, Saskatchewan oil property is currently producing 820 BOPD net to Oxbow. The Noel, B.C. natural gas property is currently producing 5.5 MMCFE/day (4.4 MMCFE/day net to Oxbow). An additional 5.8 MMCFE/day (net 2.7 MMCFE/day) is expected to commence production in early March. The Rigel, B.C. oil property is currently producing from 2 wells at a rate of 960 BOE/day (480 BOE/day net to Oxbow). A horizontal development well spudded February 7, 1998 with a second horizontal location to follow. Geoff Williams, President and CEO of Oxbow commenting on recent developments in the Company said, ''The delay in start-up of new production became unavoidable because of equipment delivery delays and rig availability. Our review of the acquired Samedan lands is progressing. A total of 11 locations (4 development; 7 exploratory) have been selected for drilling over the first half of 1998.''

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:58:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

GENERAL INTEREST / Sable Energy Project Now Official HALIFAX, Feb. 11 /CNW/ - The owners of the $3 billion Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP) made it official in Halifax today. With all regulatory approvals in place at both Federal and Provincial levels, the owners -- Mobil Oil Canada Properties Limited, Shell Canada Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Nova Scotia Resources Limited and Mosbacher Operating Limited -- have now signed both their key commercial agreements and the Facilities Alliance Agreement to engineer, construct and install the facilities. This formally commits the owners to the $2 billion first phase which will deliver the first gas from offshore Nova Scotia in late 1999. ''Today marks the most important step taken in the history of our industry in Nova Scotia,'' Mobil Oil Canada president Jerry Anderson said on behalf of the owners. ''We have formally set in motion the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the first phase to produce gas from the Venture, North Triumph and Thebaud fields. 'And we're putting down roots here as we establish a new company, Sable Offshore Energy Incorporated (SOE Inc.), based in Halifax, to manage the project and oversee operations through its life,'' Anderson said. John Brannan, currently Mobil Oil Canada's Well Operations Manager, will become General Manager of SOE Inc. and Lynn Zeidler of Shell Canada will continue as Tier 1 (first phase) Implementation Manager. They will be responsible for day-to-day management of the project and will report to the owners through the Sable Offshore Energy Incorporated Management Committee. The project Facilities Alliance Agreement, signed today, formalizes the previously announced alliance between the seven companies (Allseas Canada Limited, BBA, Elsag Bailey (Canada) Inc., Kvaerner Oil and Gas Ltd, MMIndustra/Brown&Root Joint Venture, Saipem UK Ltd, and AGRA Monenco/Brown&Root Joint Venture) to carry out the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the facilities. ''We're pleased to sign this document and confirm this alliance,'' Anderson said. ''I know the members have already been working hard to ensure we meet our start-up date in late 1999. Both SOE Inc and the Facilities Alliance are committed to meeting our stringent environmental and safety standards and to ensuring Nova Scotia and Canada benefit as much as possible from this development.'' All the owners paid tribute to the support received in Nova Scotia and Canada generally in the past three years. ''Without this support, we would not be here today confirming the largest single investment in Nova Scotia's history,'' Anderson added. Shell Canada Limited's Senior Operating Officer, Resources, Neal McKim, said the 1996 and 1997 3-D seismic programs were yielding encouraging results. ''Work to date shows the reserve potential is greater than initial estimates and we now believe we will be able to recover more than 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas,'' McKim said. ''This is great news as it will enable us to increase initial production to help meet growing market demand, especially in Canada's Maritime region.'' The owners expect initial production of more than 500 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) up from the currently planned average daily rate of 460 mmcfd. This new production will be within the facilities design capacity of 554 mmcfd sales gas rate. ''While we still have work to do to complete the assessments of the 3-D information and update computer simulations, we're hopeful we'll be able to maintain these higher rates over the longer term,'' McKim added. ''The final proof, however, won't come until we experience actual well and field performance.'' Natural gas from the Sable project will be transported to markets in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and New England by the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline which will be in service in 1999. The owners of Sable Offshore Energy Incorporated are: Mobil Oil Canada Properties Limited 50.8 per cent Shell Canada Limited 31.3 per cent Imperial Oil Resources Limited 9.0 per cent Nova Scotia Resources Limited 8.4 per cent Mosbacher Operating Limited 0.5 per cent

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 10:59:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

GENERAL INTEREST / Calibre Energy Inc Live On Canada's Business Report TORONTO, Feb. 11 / CNW - Calibre Energy Inc. will be featured today on the Market in Profile segment of Canada's Business Report. President and Chief Executive Officer Dean Smith is the invited guest. Canada's Business Report is the nation's leading radio business program heard on Talk 640 in Toronto (6:30 p.m.), CKGL 570 AM in Kitchener (6:30 p.m.), CKTB 610 AM in St. Catharines (6:30 p.m.), and CIQC 600 AM in Montreal (5:00 p.m.). The daily half-hour show is hosted by business journalist Ron Adams. Regular guests include Fred Ketchen of Scotia Capital Markets with detailed analysis of up-to-the-minute market activity, Paul Summerville of RBC Dominion Securities with a weekly economic analysis, and Canadian Federation of Independent Business CEO Catharine Swift reporting news affecting independent business. Market in Profile airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday on Canada's Business Report. The five-minute segment provides interviews with senior executives from publicly traded companies across all industries within Canada. Market in Profile is available on streaming audio on the Canada NewsWire web site at www.newswire.ca.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 11:08:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

FINANCING / Scimitar Hydrocarbons Extends Special Warrants CALGARY, Feb. 11 /CNW/ - Scimitar Hydrocarbons Corporation (SIY) is pleased to announce that it has extended to May 29, 1998, the expiry date of outstanding purchase warrants which currently expire on March 30, 1998. There are currently 3.3 million warrants outstanding, each entitling the holder thereof to purchase one common share at $1.25. Headquartered in Calgary, Canada, Scimitar's current projects include a heavy oil development in Egypt, gas and liquids exploration and exploitation in the United Arab Emirate of Ajman, gas exploration in Mozambique, petroleum product marketing in eastern Africa and exploration in western Canada.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (8963)	2/11/1998 11:10:00 PM
From: Arnie	Respond to of 15196

FIELD ACTIVITIES / Canadian Forest Oil Ltd enters Joint Venture CALGARY, Feb. 11 /CNW/ - Canadian Forest Oil Ltd. has entered into a joint venture with Ranger Oil Limited encompassing three exploration licenses in the Central Mackenzie area of the Northwest Territories. The Exploration Licenses, covering 460,000 acres, are located approximately six miles from Norman Wells, the fourth largest oilfield in Canada, and are in close proximity to the underutilized Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. Under the terms of the joint venture, Canadian Forest will earn a 50% working interest in two of the Licenses and a 25% working interest in the third. The joint venture will undertake an initial three-well program to test prospects on each license, with the anticipation that all three wells will be drilled during the current winter drilling season. The first well is now drilling with the spudding of the second well anticipated within the next week or two. This joint venture complements Canadian Forest's other activity in the Northwest Territories where the Company is participating with Ranger Oil Ltd. in the P-66A well currently drilling at Flett in the Ft. Liard area of the Southern Mackenzie Valley. In addition, the Company has retained varying interests in 20 oil and/or gas Significant Discovery Leases (SDL's) in the Beaufort Sea - Mackenzie Delta area and one SDL in the Sable Island area off Canada's east coast. Canadian Forest Oil Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST) of Denver, Colorado. Canadian Forest is actively involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas as well as the marketing of natural gas through its wholly owned subsidiary, Producers Marketing Ltd. (ProMark).