Also. . .

* Royal Dutch/Shell Group said it and Apache Corp. will buy Fletcher Challenge Energy, New Zealand’s largest oil and natural-gas exploration company and a unit of Fletcher Challenge Ltd., for $1.63 billion. Shell said it will buy Fletcher’s properties in New Zealand and Brunei for $1.03 billion. Apache, a Houston-based oil company, said it will acquire Fletcher’s natural-gas and oil holdings in western Canada and Argentina for $600 million.