HoustonStreet Exchange, a Web-based exchange and portal fortrading wholesale energy products, received an equity investmentfrom Conoco Inc., the country’s fifth largest integrated energycompany. The investment marks a major commitment by Conoco to tradecrude oil, refined products (such as heating oil, gasoline and jetfuel) and natural gas on HoustonStreet.com.

The Conoco alliance is the fourth in a series of recentinvestments major energy companies have made in HoustonStreet. OnApril 6, global venture capital fund kRoad Ventures LP andinternational energy and utilities company Vivendi SA took anequity stake in Portsmouth, NH-based HoustonStreet Exchange. Othermajor industry players that recently committed capital, liquidityand strategic guidance to HoustonStreet include Sithe EnergiesInc., Williams Energy Marketing & Trading Co., and EquivaTrading Co., the U.S. trading arm of Shell, Texaco and SaudiAramco’s downstream alliances, Equilon and Motiva.

Conoco’s commitment to trade on HoustonStreet.com will add asignificant amount of trading volume to the site, HoustonStreetsaid. As part of the deal, Conoco will also provide strategicguidance on continued site enhancements, based on user feedback andchanging market dynamics.

“To have one of the leading integrated energy companies in theworld select HoustonStreet validates not only our technology, butalso our vision for the future of real-time B2B exchanges,” saidBrian King, vice president, crude oil and refined products atHoustonStreet. “Our partnership with Conoco will leverage ourability to provide efficiencies that extend well beyond the tradingfloor.”

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