Natural gas pipeline partnership Enterprise GP Holdings LP has filed to sell 14.875 million units in a bid to raise up to $394.5 million in an initial public offering (IPO). The limited partnership is the sole member of Enterprise Products GP LLC, which is the general partner of Enterprise Products Partners LP, which in turn is 100% owned by EPCO Inc. It would be traded under the ticker symbol “EPE” on the New York Stock Exchange. The 14.875 million units include 2.1 million units to be offered to EPCO for contribution to a partnership established to benefit certain employees of EPCO, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Based on the current distribution level and partners’ capitalization of Enterprise Products Partners, Enterprise GP Holdings said it plans to pay a quarterly dividend of 25 cents/unit, or $1.00/unit on an annualized basis. Enterprise GP Holdings said it will use the net proceeds from the IPO to repay $328.1 million of debt outstanding under its new credit facility to be entered into prior to the closing of the offering.

In the fourth sale of its kind, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a contract to Cinergy Marketing & Trade LP for delivery of 9,000 MMBtu/d, with the gas coming from the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Cliffside Helium Enrichment Unit near Amarillo, TX. The 12-month delivery began April 1. Natural gas is extracted from government helium reserves stored in the Cliffside unit and sold on the open market. Proceeds from the sale are returned to the BLM, which uses revenue from its helium and gas sales to fund the unit’s operations. Remaining revenues not used are returned to the U.S. Treasury. Since passage of the 1960 Helium Amendment Act, helium has been stored at the Cliffside gas field, which today continues to hold most of the gas extracted in the last 45 years. The unit was designed to process helium-bearing gas and produce crude helium, containing 75-85% helium, which can be placed in a pipeline for sale and distribution, or placed back into the storage field depending upon demand. As part of the operation, pipeline-quality residual natural gas is produced and made available for sale through an interagency agreement between the MMS and the BLM.

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