BP Natural Gas Opportunity Partners, L.P. (BP Partners), a private equity fund sponsored by energy industry leader T. Boone Pickens, announced today it has committed $20 million to Pinnacle Midstream, LLC (Pinnacle), a Houston-based midstream company that will primarily acquire and develop midstream assets and provide related services in key natural gas producing basins in the U.S.

Pinnacle is led by founder and Chief Executive Officer, J. Greg Sargent, who has over 30 years experience in operations and senior management in the natural gas midstream space. Prior to Pinnacle, he was founder and CEO of TransTex Gas Services, a natural gas treating and processing company that began in 2006 and within five years became the largest privately-held amine leasing business in the U.S. TransTex was sold to Eureka Hunter Holdings, LLC in 2012. Sargent and a small group of industry leaders have committed an additional $5 million of capital to Pinnacle.

Pinnacle's business development efforts will be led by Hal Guttery. Mr. Guttery is a veteran of the natural gas midstream sector with over 30 years industry experience, including corporate/commercial development, acquisitions and divestitures, strategic development and planning.

Through strategic acquisitions and greenfield projects, Pinnacle will provide midstream services to producers, including gathering, processing, treating and compression. Pinnacle will work closely with producers to increase their profitability by improving deliveries and pricing. Pinnacle anticipates focusing its operations in Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi.

"I'm extremely excited to partner with BP Partners and its investment team," Sargent said. "I believe the industry experience of Pinnacle's management team combined with BP's investment expertise in the energy space will make a great partnership."

Alex Szewczyk, Managing Partner of BP Partners, said, "BP Natural Gas Opportunity Partners is very fortunate to have a management team with the breadth of experience that Greg and Hal bring to Pinnacle Midstream. We are excited to back a proven management team and believe the recent market dislocation provides an excellent opportunity to acquire quality midstream assets at attractive prices."

BP Partners, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, makes control investments in the energy sector by partnering with experienced and proven management teams.  In addition to providing financing, BP Partners contributes strategic and industry expertise in support of its portfolio companies and partners.

Platts Expands its Offering of Daily Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Price References

Platts, a leading global energy and commodities information provider, has launched a daily price assessment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) originating from East Atlantic terminals in Europe and Africa and bound for global locations. The new LNG assessment, known as the Platts East Atlantic Marker (EAM), complements the Asia LNG benchmark, Platts JKMTM and Platts' broader suite of LNG price references serving Middle East, Australia, West India, and Southwest and Northwest Europe.

"We're pleased to continue to bring greater transparency to price discovery to the burgeoning LNG market on a regional basis," said Shelley Kerr, associate editorial director, Platts LNG and Nuclear.  "With increasing LNG demand from South America and the expansion of LNG re-export activity in Europe, the East Atlantic region has become a balancing point for LNG cargoes destined for both the Atlantic and Pacific basins. We believe that a daily price assessment reflective of this trade will help facilitate the pricing and valuation needs of the marketplace, risk managers, and the industry at large."

Platts EAM reflects the value of spot market LNG cargoes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis originating from such countries as Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, France, Nigeria and Algeria, and delivered primarily to key consumer regions in South America and Asia-Pacific. The new price reference follows months of consultation with the energy industry and LNG market participants.  

The Platts EAM and other Platts LNG price references are published in Platts LNG Daily, the first-ever daily independent news publication for the global LNG industry, as well as real-time information services Platts' Natural Gas Alert and Platts' European Power Alert.

Platts EAM on January 7 was assessed at $8.70 per million British thermal units (/MMBtu), which is in line with the two half-month cycles of February, while the EAM price for the second half of January stands at $8.75/MMBtu.

The Platts EAM marker assessment represents the average of the two half-month cycles (H1, H2) that comprise the first full month of loading. For instance, on June 4, Platts' EAM (Jul) represents the average of price assessments for cargoes for loading in H1 July and H2 July.

"Whether being sold to Brazil and Argentina, or into the Asia Pacific, end destinations for LNG originating in the East Atlantic have grown in diversity and frequency," said Desmond Wong, Platts managing editor for LNG in Europe, Middle East and Africa. "With the increased demand for flexible volumes in both basins, greater spot market liquidity has been seen in free on board (FOB) transactions, and market participants tell Platts they expect this to continue."  

Platts price assessments are underpinned by structured methodology and rigorous quality protocols.  Visit the LNG methodology and specifications section of the Platts website for details.

With the launch of Platts JKMTM (Japan/Korea Marker) in February 2009, Platts was the world's first independent energy information provider to publish price references on a daily basis for LNG.  In 2010, Platts augmented its offering of LNG price references to include LNG exported from the Middle East and Australia, as well as LNG delivered into West India and Southwest and Northwest Europe.  Platts maintains the world's longest-dated database of daily price history for the commodity.