Hybrid

A much smaller energy merchant sector now operates in a “hybrid” state with ambiguous rules and may remain only a minor part of the energy industry well into the future, a panel of energy risk management analysts said Thursday.

A much smaller energy merchant sector now is operating in a “hybrid” state with ambiguous rules and could remain only a minor part of the energy industry well into the future, one industry veteran said Thursday.

The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse will hold its next Hybrid Live Floor/Internet Auction, offering 1,525 quality oil and gas properties combined into 253 lots, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Jan. 30. For the third consecutive year, the clearinghouse has been selected to hold an auction in conjunction with the North American Prospect Expo (NAPE). Properties in the auction are located in 15 states. Sellers include BP, 3-TEC Energy, PITCO, Redstone Energy, Bass Enterprises, Permian Basin Acquisition Fund, Delta Petroleum, Yuma, Casillas Petroleum and many others. Some of the more notable properties being offered include Red River Production’s Ladder Creek Field in Cheyenne County, CO; Southwestern Energy’s Wattenberg Field in Weld County, CO; Harris Oil & Gas’ Victory Field in Haskell and Morton Counties, KS; and Bass Enterprises’ Leleux Field in Acadia Parish, LA. The properties can be previewed online through Data Room Explorer hosted on the Petroleum Place web site (www.petroleumplace.com). Data rooms, including complete seller files for most of the notable properties, are open through Jan. 27. Call the clearinghouse at (281) 873-4600 to schedule a data room appointment. A pre-sale conference will be held Jan. 29 at the convention center from 8 to 5 p.m. All seller files will be available for review at that time.

FERC last Wednesday accepted parts of a proposal to form RTO West — a hybrid regional transmission organization (RTO) and transco structure for the Pacific Northwest region — as the first step in its plan to create a much larger western-wide RTO in the future. It marked the fifth RTO that the Commission has approved.

FERC late Wednesday accepted parts of a proposal to form RTO West — a hybrid regional transmission organization (RTO) and transco structure for the Pacific Northwest region — as the first step in its plan to create a much larger western-wide RTO in the future. It marked the fifth RTO that the Commission has approved.

The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse sold more than $18.1million of properties as of its Oct. 25th Hybrid auction, whichfeatured simultaneous floor and Internet bidding in Midland, TX.Based in Houston, the company is a wholly owned subsidiary ofPetroleum Place, an Internet portal and marketplace serving theupstream energy industry. The Clearinghouse said it offered 128lots, consisting of more than 800 wells, including 46 higher valuedproperties. Year-to-date, Internet bidders have purchased more than$25 million properties through Selective Offerings, andparticipation on the Internet also is increasing, said the company.

A new combination pressurized fuel cell and microturbine hasbeen developed that is expected to generate electricityefficiently, cleanly and at a lower cost than either of the twosystems on a stand-alone basis.