Linn Energy LLC and LinnCo LLC plans to acquire Berry Petroleum Co. for $4.3 billion, including the assumption of debt, in a stock-for-stock merger of Berry with LinnCo to be followed by Linn’s acquisition of the Berry assets.

The Canadian government approved ExxonMobil Canada's acquisition of Celtic Exploration Ltd. of Calgary. The $3.14 billion transaction is expected to close before Mar. 1.

PetroChina has signed an agreement with ConocoPhillips to take working interests in two permits in which ConocoPhillips is a participant in Western Australia: one offshore and one onshore.

OAO Rosneft Pres. and Chairman Igor Sechin met with oil company executives in China and Japan to discuss establishing partnerships in Russian offshore Arctic projects and possibly future LNG projects.

The Indonesian government has rejected the $725 million purchase by state-owned PT Pertamina (Persero) of the Venezuelan interests of Harvest Natural Resources Inc.

BG Group signed an agreement to sell its interests in shallow, noncore, conventional producing assets and acreage in the Cotton Valley formation in East Texas and North Louisiana to EXCO Resources, Dallas, for $132.5 million.

ExxonMobil Corp. and Rosneft of Russia have agreed to expand a 2011 strategic cooperation agreement to include far more Russian Arctic exploratory acreage, possible Rosneft participation in ExxonMobil’s Point Thomson gas-condensate field in Alaska, and a potential Russian Arctic LNG project.

Nexen Inc. received approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) regarding its CNOOC Ltd.’s $15.1 billion acquisition of Nexen.

Gulfport Energy Corp. signed a definitive agreement to buy 22,000 net acres in the Utica shale in Eastern Ohio from Windsor Ohio LLC, an affiliate of Wexford Capital LP, for $220 million, increasing Gulfport's leasehold interests in the Utica shale to 137,000 gross (128,000 net) acres.