Torrid pace of oil patch mergers cools

March 16 - GlobeAndMail.com - Mergers and acquisitions by global oil and gas producers slumped in the second half of last year after a torrid pace in the first half, setting the stage for a "frustrating" 2007, a report from two industry research firms said yesterday. Fuelled by record cash flow and earnings, global oil companies concluded roughly 280 major upstream transactions, worth $166-billion (U.S.) in 2006, said the report from Houston-based John S. Herold and London-based Harrison Lovegrove & Co. Ltd. Read More.