An investor group consisting of KKR, NGP, Crestview Partners and Itochu Corp., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Samson Investment Co., one of the largest private exploration and production companies in the US, for $7.2 billion.

Norway’s Statoil ASA said Oct. 17 that it has entered into a merger agreement for Statoil to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Austin, Tex.-based Brigham Exploration Company for US$36.5 per share through an all-cash tender offer.

Looking to add to its Bakken Shale leasehold, Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. has entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement with a private oil and gas company to acquire additional producing properties and undeveloped leasehold in the Williston Basin for approximately $235 million in cash.

Sionix Corp. has executed an agreement with Dakota Solutions Inc. for the lease of property in Tioga, North Dakota for the construction and operation of a Waste Water Treatment Facility in the Bakken Shale Formation.

Houston-based Halliburton plans to hire more than 11,000 employees this year, according to Jim Brown, Western Hemisphere president of the company.

A subsidiary of Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. has negotiated an agreement to purchase operated working interest ownership in oil and gas leases and 191 wells on roughly 15,500 gross acres over four counties in the Williston Basin of North Dakota from a private company for $57 million.

The Anschutz Exploration Corp. closed the sale of its remaining operated and non-operated producing properties and undeveloped acreage in the Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota to an undisclosed Canadian oil company for $115 million.

FX Energy Inc. has signed an agreement with American Eagle Energy Inc., and Big Sky Operating LLC, to jointly explore approximately 75,000 acres in the Alberta Bakken in Northwest Montana.

Continuing its liquids-rich shale play growth, Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. and its newly-acquired subsidiary NuLoch Resources Inc. have acquired 16,800 gross acres in the Williston Basin in a “bolt-on” acquisition.

Newfield Exploration Co. has released its latest Williston Basin activities showing an aggressive pace and a steady improvement in Bakken Shale well performance.

Austin, Tex.-based Brigham Exploration Co. (NASDAQ: BEXP) said April 13 that its Sorenson 29-32 #2H Bakken well produced a North Dakota Bakken record 5,330 barrels of oil equivalent during its early 24-hour peak flow-back period.

Continental Resources said Mar. 21 that it plans to move its corporate headquarters from the small city of Enid, Okla., to Oklahoma City, the state’s capital and largest city.