As part of a major reorganization plan, the American PetroleumInstitute (API) says it plans to establish a “natural gascomponent” aimed at attracting medium-to-small sized companies asnew members and at retaining current API members.

The gas component would be one of six components, includingupstream, downstream, pipeline, marine and allied services (i.e.drilling contracting services), according to API spokesman MichaelShanahan. The idea behind dividing API into various components isto reduce the dues structure for members, he noted. Rather thanpaying to be a member in the entire API, oil and gas-relatedcompanies would pay scaled-down dues for a single component.

API President Red Cavaney is “not out to get them,” or attractexisting members from natural gas associations to API, Shanahansaid. “It’s not intended to take over any other organization,” hetold NGI. While he conceded it would cost less to belong to APIafter the reorganization, he couldn’t say whether dues would beless than those of the gas associations. “The dues structures [forthe individual components] have not been established yet.”

Shanahan noted the concept to divide API into components hasbeen informally approved by the oil company members of theinstitute, but the specifics have not been worked out yet.

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