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

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (15023)	1/27/1999 2:08:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

ENERGY TRUSTS - MISC / OPTUS Natural Gas Distribution Income Fund Announces Monthly Cash Distribution CALGARY, Jan. 26 /CNW/ - OPT.UN:TSE - OPTUS Natural Gas Distribution Income Fund announced today that it will make a monthly cash distribution of $0.25 per trust unit on February 15, 1999 to unitholders of record on February 5, 1999. The cash distribution consists of approximately $0.08 interest income, $0.10 dividend income and $0.07 return of capital. OPTUS is an income trust, which through DEML is Canada's largest independent natural gas marketing company, currently distributing natural gas to approximately 500,000 residential and small business customers in Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. DEML supplies approximately 750 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to industrial, institutional and utility customers in North America. OPTUS has a market capitalization of approximately $475 million.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (15023)	1/27/1999 2:10:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

PROPERTY ACQUISITION / Bow Valley Energy Announces French Exploration Applications CALGARY, Jan. 26 /CNW/ - Bow Valley Energy Ltd. is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary Bow Valley Petroleum (UK) Limited anticipates the award of two further exploration blocks in the Paris Basin, France. Participants in exploration block CHANTE-MERLE are Bow Valley (47.5%), Vermilion Resources Ltd (50%) and Egdon Resources (New Ventures) Limited (2.5%). This block comprises an area of 715 square kilometres (180,000 acres) and will be operated by Bow Valley during the exploration phase and by Vermilion during the drilling and production phases. Participants in the second block, MONT-SAINT-PERE, are Bow Valley (95%) and Egdon (5%). This block comprises an area of 863 square kilometres (210,000 acres) and will be operated by Bow Valley. The applications are located north of the Villeperdue field in the north of the Paris Basin and are contiguous to the recent successful application by Bow Valley and Egdon Resources for the SAINT-JEAN-AUX-BOIS licence to the west of the CHANTE-MERLE licence. Bow Valley expects the award of the licences during the next month, subject to ministerial approval following completion of a review of exploration plans by the relevant regional authorities and the DHYCA. As a result, Bow Valley will have a total exploratory acreage position onshore in the Paris basin of 484,500 net acres. The applications resulted from a regional review of the prospectivity of the Paris Basin with particular emphasis on predicting potential petroleum migration pathways from the mature source rocks which exist within the licence areas. Bow Valley and partners plan to re-process existing seismic data and apply recent geoscience technology to an area that is underexplored. Bow Valley recognises six potential plays within the area of the three licences including the traditional Middle Jurassic and Triassic targets. Bow Valley was formed in 1996 to operate as an international oil and gas acquisition, development and production company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Bow Valley has interests in the United Kingdom (both onshore and offshore) and has signed a service contract to develop the Balal oilfield located offshore Iran in the Persian Gulf. Bow Valley trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol BVX.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (15023)	1/27/1999 2:24:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

CORP ANNOUNCEMENT / Canadian Occidenatal Petroleum Announces Staff Layoffs CALGARY, Jan. 26 /CNW/ - Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd., today announced that it has laid off 112 staff. These necessary layoffs resulted from a corporate re-structuring due to the sale of over a billion dollars of non-core assets, as well as reduced capital investment in response to low oil prices. The layoffs include 66 staff in Calgary, 28 staff in Regina, 12 staff in Lloydminster, and 6 staff in Estevan. Over the past two years, CanadianOxy has sold assets worldwide including significant asset dispositions in Canada. As a result, the Canadian division has completed a review of its operations and processes to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. A similar business review is underway in CanadianOxy's other divisions. Savings from the entire re-structuring are expected to be about $100 million over the next three years. ''The restructuring of CanadianOxy will allow us to better manage our assets and provide efficiencies and agility going forward in both low and robust price environments,'' said Victor Zaleschuk, President and CEO. ''Unfortunately, the downside of these actions is the loss of some very good, effective and loyal staff.'' CanadianOxy is an independent, Canadian-based global energy and chemicals company. Core business activities include the exploration, development, production and marketing of crude oil and natural gas in Canada, the United States, Yemen, Nigeria, Australia, Colombia and Indonesia. Certain statements in this press release constitute ''forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. By their nature, such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Readers should refer to the Company's 1997 Annual report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the risks and uncertainties.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (15023)	1/27/1999 3:07:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

MERGERS- ACQUISITIONS / BlackRock Ventures Inc. Situation BLACKROCK ANNOUNCES ARRANGEMENT WITH GLAMIS TORONTO, ONTARIO-- BlackRock Ventures Inc. (TSE:BVI) announced that it has entered into a lock-up agreement with Glamis Gold Ltd. (TSE & NYSE:GLG) in connection with its undertaking to vote its 25.4% voting interest in Rayrock Resources Inc. (TSE:RAY) in favor of Glamis's new proposal to acquire all of Rayrock's issued and outstanding shares. The previously announced arrangements with Viceroy Resource Corporation have been terminated under their terms at no cost to BlackRock. The new Glamis proposal, which is to be effected by a statutory Plan of Arrangement (the "Arrangement"), provides Rayrock shareholders with a choice of either $3.00 in cash plus 1.6 Glamis shares, or 2.4 Glamis shares for each share of Rayrock. BlackRock has elected to take the cash plus share option. In addition, subject to regulatory and Rayrock shareholder approval, BlackRock has agreed to receive all of the shares of Magin Energy Inc. (TSE:MGY) shares (approximately 3.3 million) currently held by Rayrock in lieu of a portion of the Glamis shares which would otherwise be issuable to BlackRock. The exchange is based on a negotiated ratio of 0.94 of a share of Glamis for each share of Magin. Upon successful completion of the Arrangement and approval of the Magin exchange, BlackRock will end up with approximately $11.2 million in cash, 3.3 million shares of Magin (representing a 10.8% interest in Magin) and 2.9 million shares of Glamis (representing a 4.2% pro forma interest in Glamis), in a deal worth $29.4 million, valued at yesterday's closing prices. Upon completion of the transaction, Glamis will hold a 45.9% interest in BlackRock. Glamis and BlackRock have agreed to co-operate fully in the orderly placement of the shares each holds in the other. BlackRock currently has no intention to dispose of the Magin shares it would receive upon completion of the arrangements. The proposed Glamis transactions will not affect the issued and outstanding common shares of BlackRock, which will remain at 53,855,104. Cameron O. Smith, Chairman of BlackRock, commenting on these events, said, "The arrangements with Glamis are a material improvement on the Viceroy proposal. First, the Glamis arrangement provides BlackRock with $2.0 million more in cash to expand it heavy oil business; second, it provides the Company with larger holdings of investment grade securities; and third, it ensures the Company will have sufficient time to effect an orderly transition of control from its current major shareholder. As a result, BlackRock will be far better positioned to enhance value for all its shareholders."