More than 350 members of the natural gas industry, including 200 of its customers, are already pre-registered to attend GasMart 2007, an annual conference and networking event scheduled to be held May 9-11 this year in downtown Chicago, according to host Intelligence Press, Inc. (IPI).

Major sponsors for this 21st annual GasMart include BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Nexen Marketing, TransCanada, EnergyUSA-TPC, Integrys, Wachovia, Cargill, NECC, the IntercontinentalExchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange, among others. Executives from many of the same organizations will be making presentations as part of the three-day conference.

“The GasMart program this year, including the sessions and workshops, is focused on end-users and the demand side of the market,” said Dexter Steis, IPI Executive Publisher. “The sessions will focus on how to assess the market, structure deals and then how to lock in costs with hedges.”

End-users can pick up useful information in the sessions and then go into the Market Network Center exhibit hall to meet with the producers, marketers and local distribution companies supplying the gas. The customers also have a part to play. “On Friday we’re giving a panel of end users, representing chemicals, steel, grain processing, the construction industry and ethanol manufacturers, a chance to sound off about their cost and delivery concerns,” he said.

“With six weeks left before the event, slots for attendees to watch the Cubs take on the Pirates from a luxurious, Nymex-sponsored Wrigley Rooftop are going fast,” Steis continued. “The NECC golf tournament is attracting a lot of attention as attendees vie for industry bragging rights. On Thursday, May 10 the IntercontinentalExchange will host its annual ICE cocktail reception with live entertainment in the GasMart Market Network Center exhibit hall. You must be registered for GasMart to attend.

“Meanwhile, we’re filling up our room block at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel,” he added. “The special GasMart rate is good only through April 7 and is offered on a space-available basis.”

The early-bird deadline for lower-priced registration to GasMart is April 9, just a couple days after the April 7 hotel cut-off.

The annual GasMart event has been hosted since 1986 by Intelligence Press, Inc. (IPI), a leading source of natural gas and power market news and prices at intelligencepress.com.

To see the complete program and attendees, or to register to attend, go to gasmart.com. For further information contact James Geanakos at 703-318-8848.

©Copyright 2007Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.