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

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14203)	12/10/1998 11:54:00 PM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

FINANCING / Derek Resources Corporation Announces Private Placement VANCOUVER, Dec. 10 /CNW/ Derek Resources Corporation VSE Trading Symbol: DRS The Company is pleased to announce that it has agreed to sell 1,500,000 special warrants of the Company at the price of $0.40 per special warrant (for total proceeds of $600,000), with each special warrant exercisable to acquire, at any time and for no additional consideration, one common share and a warrant to purchase a further common share at the price of $0.40 per share during the first year following the date of the closing of the private placement and at the price of $0.50 per share during the second year following the date of the closing of the private placement. A finder's fee of 7.5% is payable in cash or special warrants, at the option of the finder. The proceeds of this private placement will be used to complete the final option payment to purchase the Company's interest in its Wyoming property and to provide general working capital. Derek Resources Corporation is an oil company with a 75% interest in The LAK Ranch property located in the Powder River Basin of Eastern Wyoming three miles SE of Newcastle. The LAK Ranch is one of those rare occasions when new technology provides the ability to exploit a valuable proven resource. Our LAK Ranch Oil Project is unique in many ways. 1. Proven 100+ million barrels of oil confirmed through third party drilling and engineering with possible reserves of up to 150 million barrels. 2. Total engineered lifting costs estimated at US$5.76/bbl with recoveries exceeding 80%. 3. Texaco has agreed in writing to purchase LAK Ranch Oil at a price equivalent to West Text Intermediate (''WTI''). LAK Ranch Oil is napthenic, very low in sulphur and contains no paraffin. It is excellent jet fuel feedstock and is therefore in great demand while in reducing supply. Derek Resources Corporation believes a corporate strategy of pursuing already defined oil reserves in steeply dipping reservoirs amenable to various recovery processes such as SAGD, GAGD and low grade thermal oxidation provides the company with a unique opportunity to pursue these now very economic resources. For the future, we have identified several other oil fields that we can obtain and develop using the same process as being applied at the LAK Ranch. We intend to make Derek a successful junior oil producer.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14203)	12/10/1998 11:58:00 PM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

ENERGY TRUSTS / ARC STRATEGIC Energy Fund Announces Weekly NAV CALGARY, Dec. 10 /CNW/ - (AEF.UN - TSE) - ARC STRATEGIC Energy Fund announces that its net asset value for the week ending December 9, 1998 was $8.47 per Unit. ARC STRATEGIC Energy Fund is a growth-oriented energy investment fund.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14203)	12/11/1998 12:05:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

NEW LISTING / Teton Petroleum Company To Trade On Canadian Dealer Network TETON PETROLEUM COMPANY COMMENCES TRADING ON Date: 12/10/98 3:40:31 PM Dateline: TORONTO, ONTARIO Stock Symbol: TPCO Shares Outstanding: 12,990,059 Teton Petroleum Company (TPCO-CDN) announces that the Canadian Dealing Network Inc. has approved a visible quotation of the common shares of Teton Petroleum Company. Trading under the symbol "TPCO" will commence on Friday, December 11, 1998. Teton Petroleum Company is a corporation resulting from the merger of American-Tyumen Exploration Company into EQ Resources Ltd. effective November 23, 1998. The issued capital of Teton Petroleum Company consists of 12,990,059 common shares, 400,000 common share purchase warrants exercisable at US$0.50 per share until May 15, 2003 and $2,000,000 of convertible debentures which can be converted on the basis of one common share for each $2.00 principal amount. Teton Petroleum Company has been formed to engage in the exploration, development, exploitation, acquisition and production of petroleum and natural gas properties in Russia and elsewhere. It is presently developing three projects located in Western Siberia: the Goloil Project, which currently operates two producing oil wells and is engaged in further exploration and development, the Varyeganneft Venture, which has received a grant from the United States Trade and Development Agency to fund a feasibility study for the exploration and development of three Siberian oil prospects, and the Black Mountain Project. Teton Petroleum Company holds another seven licences in the Russia territory of Dagestan. Goloil Licence The Goloil licence agreement grants Goloil, a subsidiary of Teton, the exclusive right to explore and develop an area of Siberia covering 186.8 square miles and including the Eguryahskaya, South-Eguryahskaya and Golevaya oil fields situated in the Nizhnevartovsk Region, for a period of 25 years. Goloil has drilled exploratory well and is required to drill four exploratory wells between 1998 and 2002, each at a depth of between 2800 and 3200 meters; conduct additional seismic surveys aggregating 30 square kilometers; and evaluate geologic data from an area covering 70 square miles. The licence estimates the cost of these activities at $9,900,000. Goloil also is required to conduct production tests on six wells between 1997 and 2000. The licence requires Goloil to pay all taxes and the following additional payments to the Russian government: 1% of the cost of exploration and evaluation activities; 3% of exploration activities in excess of Goloil's allotment; 6% of payments for test production; and 11% of the cost of production calculated on the basis of the costs of extracted hydrocarbons plus losses of the product during production and the amounts exceeding the levels approved by Russian authorities. Varyeganneft Venture Teton Petroleum Company has signed an agreement with Varyeganneft ("VN"), a Russian Joint Stock Company, to acquire up to a 49% interest in a subsidiary of VN to be formed by the parties. VN currently possesses a twenty-five-year licence for exploration and development of the Novo-Aganskoye Oil Field in Siberia ("NOVO"), a five-year exploration licence for the Vostochno-Kalinovoye Oil Field ("East K") and a five-year exploration licence for Kalinovoye Oil field ("K"). None of these prospects currently has producing oil wells. Teton Petroleum Company has entered into a Grant Agreement between the United States Government, acting through the United States Trade and Development Agency ("TDA") and VN. Teton Petroleum Company arranged for the Grant Agreement by which the TDA agreed to provide VN $250,000 to partially fund the costs of goods and services required for a Feasibility Study to develop the NOVO, East-K and K prospects. The entire study will cost at least $500,000, with Teton and/or a contractor required to incur $250,000 of additional costs. Black Mountain Prospect Goltech, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Teton, executed a protocol to purchase a licence to explore and develop lands in Siberia covering approximately 70 square miles and known as the Black Mountain Prospect. Pursuant to the protocol, Goltech will determine whether production from the licenced lands is economically feasible. Upon determining feasibility, the parties will negotiate the terms of purchase and Geoscience, a shareholder of Goloil, will conduct the feasibility study. Teton Oil (USA) Limited Prior to the Merger of American-Tyumen Exploration Company into EQ Resources Ltd. to form Teton, American-Tyumen acquired the assets of Teton Oil (USA) Limited consisting of all of the issued and outstanding shares in DCD, Dag Inc. DCD, Dag Inc. has secured seven oil licenses in the Russian territory of Dagestan. For further information please contact Mr. H. Howard Cooper, President at (970) 870-1417.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14203)	12/11/1998 4:59:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Amoco Corp Shareholders, EU Approve British Petoleum Merger CHICAGO - The merger of Amoco Corp. and British Petroleum Co. Plc cleared two hurdles on Thursday, leaving only one obstacle on the path to becoming the world's third-largest oil company. Amoco shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the deal at a special meeting in Chicago while across the Atlantic, the European Commission's competition committee also approved the merger, valued at about $49 billion when it was announced Aug. 11. The merger now must obtain approval by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, widely considered by many to be the most challenging hurdle it must clear. Amoco's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer H. Laurance Fuller announced Thursday that the European Commission had cleared the deal at the shareholder meeting. He said the European Union would be formally announcing its approval on Friday. "They (the European Commission) haven't published the opinion, but my understanding is there weren't any conditions to it (approval)," he told reporters after the meeting. The new company, which will be known as BP Amoco Plc, will be based in London. It will be the largest company in Britain. BP Amoco would rank third among the world's publicly traded oil companies -- behind top ranked Exxon Corp. of the U.S., which announced plans on Dec. 1 to merge with Mobil Corp. to create the world's largest publicly traded company, and, in second place, Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell Group . Amoco said 98 percent of the shareholders' votes cast were in favor of the merger, which the two companies still aim to close by the end of the year. BP shareholders approved the deal on November 25. The merger has sparked concern about its impact on retail gasoline prices in the U.S., where the companies own competing gasoline stations in some areas. The Federal Trade Commission has already made a second request for more information. Second requests occur in only about 5 percent of pending merger reviews, the FTC has said. Amoco has already agreed to sell 12 petroleum product storage terminals to The Williams Cos. Inc. , an energy and communications company based in Tulsa, Okla., in a deal stemming from the proposed merger. On Thursday, Amoco's stock fell 50 cents to $57.00 a share, in composite New York Stock Exchange trading. British Petroleum's American Depositary Receipts traded on the NYSE dropped 18.75 cents to $88.25 on Thursday.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14203)	12/11/1998 5:06:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Devon Energy Takes Over Northstar Energy, Looks For More Newly merged Northstar Energy and Devon Energy are poised for an oil and gas properties buying binge, Northstar chief executive John Hagg said Thursday. Hagg commented after shareholders of Calgary-based Northstar approved a friendly $1.3-billion takeover by Oklahoma-based Devon. The combined company will be among the top 15 North American oil and gas independents. It will continue to operate under the Northstar name in Canada and as Devon in the United States. "We expect to complete a transaction that will be announced by the end of this month in the $100-million size," said Hagg, who called the merger an exciting new chapter in Northstar's development. "And I think the opportunities are going to get better in the weeks ahead." He expects that as the Amoco-BP merger and Exxon-Mobil deals shake down there will be a bevy of assets available for companies like Northstar-Devon. The company already has extensive holdings in northeastern British Columbia -- where it is jointly working with Amoco on a significant discovery -- and north-central Alberta. "Northstar had a little bit too much debt to really execute and exploit the opportunities that they have," said Larry Nichols, Devon's chief executive officer. "So you bring Northstar's exploration exposure in Canada with Devon's balance sheet and both sides win." Nichols said the merged company's diversified energy assets will help it grow and will cushion the blow of plunging world oil prices. He also expects to cash in on the expected growth of natural gas markets in the United States. "We're weighted towards gas and we have a long reserve life, which puts us in a stronger position to be able to truck on through these downturns." The merger is the latest in a spate of American acquisitions of Canadian energy companies. Analysts say low world oil prices and a weak Canadian dollar have made smaller Canadian energy companies bargains for bigger American players. Other takeovers in the Alberta oilpatch have involved Archer Resources, Norcen Energy, Tarragon Oil and Gas and Chauvco Resources. Northstar's Hagg said further consolidation is a fact of life as all sectors of the North American economy become more tightly intertwined. "North American gas markets are now so integrated," he said, and companies are "not worried about the 49th parallel; they're just worried about doing the right transaction." The current distressed oil market offers "incredible opportunities for a company that has a good strong balance sheet, both to do drilling and acquisitions," said Devon's Nichols. "There's financial weakness in both countries; companies are over-leveraged and they don't have the cash flow, with low oil prices. "There are companies that have to dispose of or farm out some of their own quality exploration programs." Nichols added that the wider dynamics of the industry point to more mergers. "When Mobil says $72 billion is too small for them to be effective and Amoco says $52 billion is too small for them, it makes the small guys really have to consolidate."