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

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12501)	9/26/1998 5:54:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

FINANCING / Alberta Energy Files Final Prospectus AEC FILES FINAL PROSPECTUS FOR SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS CALGARY, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - ALBERTA ENERGY COMPANY LTD. said today it has filed the final short-form prospectus relating to its previously announced offering of 6.35 million Subscription Receipts, each representing the right to receive one Common Share of AEC. The offering, on a bought-deal basis, totalled C$200 million. AEC intends to use the proceeds of the offering to pay part of the purchase price of the acquisition of Amber Energy Inc. as outlined in its Offer and Circular mailed to Amber shareholders on September 18, 1998. RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and Peters & Co. Limited are acting as co-lead underwriters. The Subscription Receipts and underlying Common Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold within the U.S. except to ''institutional accredited investors'' as defined in the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, in reliance upon exemptions from the registration requirements of such Act. Focused and growing, Alberta Energy Company Ltd. is one of Canada's largest oil and gas exploration and production companies. Profitable Midstream investments in pipelines, as well as natural gas storage and gas liquids processing, provide an additional solid income base. AEC's current stock market value exceeds C$3.8 billion. Common Shares trade on the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges (AEC) and on the New York Stock Exchange (AOG).

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12501)	9/26/1998 5:56:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

FINANCING / Real Resources Private Placement REAL RESOURCES INC. ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF FLOW-THROUGH SHARE PRIVATE PLACEMENT CALGARY, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - Real Resources Inc. (''RER'' - TSE) Mr. Lowell E. Jackson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Real Resources Inc. (''Real'') is pleased to announce the closing today of its flow-through share private placement for aggregate proceeds of $3,000,000 with two separate limited partnerships managed by NCE Resources Group Inc. Mr. Jackson said, ''Once again, Real has been able to obtain significant financing on favourable terms. Management is highly optimistic about Real's continued growth and future performance''. The proceeds of this private placement will be used to accelerate Real's exploration program. The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12501)	9/26/1998 6:02:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

ONTARIO STOCK COMMISION / Cease Trading Continues For Airgen Corp Shares OSC - RE: AIRGEN CORPORATION TORONTO, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - The Cease Trading Order Dated September 15th, 1998 continued September 25th, 1998 pending the company complying with Part XVIII of the Securities Act.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12501)	9/26/1998 6:05:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

FIELD ACTIVITIES / Husky Oil Blackstone Well update HUSKY BLACKSTONE WELL UPDATE CALGARY, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - The Husky Oil operated Blackstone well remains in a controlled state forty-eight hours after the September 23 release of sour gas, but an emergency situation continues until the well is fully secured. Air monitoring equipment shows no levels of hydrogen sulphide gas in the area at this time. However, Husky strongly advises the public to stay away from the area until further notice. At this time, all access within a 10 km radius is restricted. Efforts are now being focused on sealing off the well. Experienced well safety specialists are working on site with support from essential fire fighting and safety equipment. The company is taking every measure possible to permanently secure the well. Safety for the workers on site and protection of the environment are the company's priorities. Air monitoring equipment is in constant use. The 30,000 cubic feet of sour gas that was released in a two-hour period on Wednesday was dispersed very quickly, H2S monitors did not detect dangerous levels on or adjacent to the site in the period immediately following the release. Husky has made every effort to ensure that recreational users in the area were alerted to the potential danger and advised to leave the area. 36 people - loggers, trappers and hunters - were affected. The company continues to work closely with the RCMP and with regulatory and government authorities. Husky extends its gratitude to local officials and to the public for the cooperation it has received, and asks for the public's continued support. The Blackstone well is located at 10-22-46-16-W5M, about 50 km northeast of the town of Nordegg. Husky Oil is a Canadian-based privately held integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company's operations include the exploration for and the development of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the production, purchase, transportation, upgrading, refining and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, sulphur and petroleum coke, and the marketing of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, alternative fuels and asphalt.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12501)	9/26/1998 6:25:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

PIPELINES / Standard & Poor Rating For Lakehead Pipe Line Partners LP STANDARD & POOR'S RATES LAKEHEAD PIPE LINE PARTNERS 'A'; OUTLOOK STABLE TORONTO, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - Standard & Poor's today assigned its single-'A' corporate credit rating to Lakehead Pipe Line Partners L.P. (Lakehead) and it single-'A'-minus rating to Lakehead Pipe Line Co. L.P.'s proposed issue of US$200 million senior unsecured notes. Lakehead owns a 99% limited partner interest in Lakehead Pipe Line Co. L.P., which is the operating partnership for the pipeline. The ratings reflect the company's strong regional market share, capacity growth through ongoing system expansion, and its integration with Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc.'s (IPL) pipeline system. Interprovincial owns 16.6% of Lakehead. Overall, Lakehead's ratings reflect the company's above-average business position and below-average financial position for its rating category. Duluth, Minn.-based Lakehead services the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the U.S. and Ontario directly, or through other companies' connecting pipelines. In the U.S., Lakehead transports crude and natural gas liquids into the northern Midwest and into the PADD II area. Deliveries are made principally to refineries in Sarnia, Ontario, Nanticoke, Ontario, Toronto, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Superior, Wis., Chicago, the Patoka and Wood River area in Illinois, Detroit, Toledo, and Buffalo. For the eight-month period ended August 1998, Lakehead delivered about 58% of all crude oil into Chicago, 77% of all crude oil into the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and substantially all crude oil into Ontario. Lakehead's system capacity is approximately 1.6 million barrels per day. The company is projecting incremental capacity of 170,000 barrels per day upon completion of the second phase of its system expansion project, scheduled for completion in January 1999, and an additional 170,000 barrels per day on completion of the first phase of the Terrace project in late 1999. The planned system expansions are based on anticipated increases in demand in the PADD II area, Lakehead's primary market, and decreasing U.S. supply. The Lakehead system is integrated with that of IPL, which ensures continued supply from western Canada into PADD II. A majority of the crude oil and NGLs transported through the Lakehead system originates from the IPL system. Sixty-five percent of Western Canadian deliveries are made through IPL, and 90% of these deliveries are transported through the Lakehead system. Canadian producers are price takers in the intensely competitive PADD II market. However, Canadian production costs average C$5 per barrel, which compares favourably with offshore imports coming from Venezuela and through the Gulf of Mexico. OUTLOOK: STABLE Fueled by increasing production from western Canada and increased demand in the U.S. PADD II market, Standard & Poor's anticipates that Lakehead's operating performance will continue to strengthen in the medium term. Capacity expansion in the Canadian IPL system will continue to drive Lakehead's pipeline expansion, as the two systems operate as an integrated system, Standard & Poor's said. Web site: ratings.standardpoor.com

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12501)	9/26/1998 6:27:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Arco Plans Major Restructuring Atlantic Richfield Co. (NYSE:ARC - news) plans to lay off workers and slash its operating budget in an austerity program forced by low world oil prices and increased competition from larger companies. In a message sent by e-mail to employees, Arco chairman and chief executive Mike Bowlin did not say how many jobs will be eliminated, or how deeply spending will be reduced. A company spokesman said details of the plan still are being worked out and won't be completed until mid- or late October. Arco has to cut back to compete against companies such as British Petroleum (NYSE:BP), which recently acquired Amoco, Bowlin wrote. The memo was sent to employees last week, but was made public on Friday. ''It is clear that we must take action to ensure that Arco remains a strong and successful independent company,'' he said. ''To me, the answer is simple and straightforward: We must live within our means.'' ''We must reduce costs across the board -- administrative, overhead, operating and capital costs.'' The company does not plan to close any gasoline stations or AM-PM markets, said spokesman Al Greenstein. Arco is the nation's seventh-largest oil company and employs about 20,000 people worldwide. Crude oil prices have rebounded in recent weeks, reaching $16 per barrel after falling as low as $12 per barrel earlier this year. But last year, before the Asian economic crisis cut demand, oil futures were 20 percent higher. The price revival was attributed to production cuts by OPEC countries and aggressive buying by speculators who expect demand to increase as winter approaches, said Alvin Silber, an oil industry analyst at Herzog, Heine, Geduld in New York. Arco's move reflects a trend in cost-cutting and consolidation in the oil industry. On Wednesday, Occidental Petroleum's (NYSE:OXY) Bakersfield-based drilling division slashed about 80 jobs, and promised more cuts. Also, Texaco Inc. (NYSE:TX) and Shell Europe Oil Products signed an agreement earlier this month to combine their European refining and retailing operations. The companies have said jobs will be lost, but have not specified how many. ''The oil price being so low is their rationale, but they've been retrenching in overhead staff for the last four or five years. This is not a new departure for Arco,'' said Silber. ''The industry generally has been doing the same thing.''

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (12501)	9/26/1998 6:29:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Amber Energy Delays Triggering Poison Pill By CLAUDIA CATTANEO Calgary Bureau Chief The Financial Post The target of a hostile takeover, Amber Energy Inc. will wait until Oct. 6 or later before separating rights from its common shares under its shareholders' rights plan. The company said it was premature to trigger the separation, which would have been effective on Thursday as a result of an unsolicited bid from Alberta Energy Co. On Sept. 18, AEC offered to buy the heavy oil producer for $7 in cash for each Amber share, or 0.215 AEC shares for a maximum of three million AEC shares. The offer expires on Oct. 9 and depends on Amber removing the shareholder rights plan. The poison pill provides that the rights, which now trade with its common shares, are separated from them eight business days after presentation of a hostile takeover offer. The rights allow shareholders to buy more Amber shares at a discount, making an unwanted acquisition more expensive. "They are trying to preserve all their options," said a source close to the deal. "They don't want the rights to automatically separate, and in effect trigger the poison pill, because AEC's bid is contingent on the poison pill being waived. If triggered, the bid would not be able to proceed." Amber, which rejected AEC's offer as "opportunistic and completely inadequate," is urging shareholders to read a circular from directors that will be mailed on Monday. "Amber is continuing its review of strategic alternatives available in the circumstances and is responding to significant interest expressed already by a third party," said president and chief executive Richard Lewanski. "A number of parties have been through and others are scheduled to visit Amber's data rooms." Amber shares (AMB/TSE) closed at $7.45 on Friday, up 10¢. Soon after the poison pill was adopted in June, Amber's stock plummeted because the company lowered its production estimate for this year and next, as well as cutting capital spending to preserve cash.