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Politics : Peak Oil reality or Myth, of an out of Control System -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dvdw© who wrote (555)	9/14/2011 9:24:41 AM
From: dvdw©	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1580

Good News; By Scott Nishimura snishimura@star-telegram.com '[/mi/pubsys/story/byline] ' & -->'[/mi/pubsys/story/credit_line] ' & --> Frac Tech International, a fast-growing privately owned oil and gas hydraulic fracturing firm, plans an initial public stock offering from which it aims to raise up to $1.15 billion, it said in a federal securities filing. Major shareholders plan to sell an unspecified portion of their shares during the IPO. Chesapeake Operating, part of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy, owns 30 percent of the company. Frac Tech said it would change its name to FTS International and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It intends to use proceeds to pay down a $1.5 billion senior secured loan due May 6, 2016. Founded in 2000, Frac Tech has corporate offices in Carter Burgess Plaza in downtown Fort Worth and in Cisco, near Abilene. The company has 3,900 employees, including 700 in Tarrant and Parker counties, spokeswoman Pam Percival said. In its prospectus, the company reported 2010 revenue of $1.28 billion, up from $214.4 million in 2006. Net profit grew to $368.6 million from $82.4 million during that time. Frac Tech said it fractured 1,374 wells in 2010, compared with 398 in 2006. Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure deep into the ground to break up shale and other rock formations. The company said its largest market shares are in the Haynesville Shale in Louisiana and East Texas; the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas; and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It also has significant business in the Permian Basin in West Texas and the Bakken Shale in the Dakotas and Montana. Its largest customers include XTO Energy and Range Resources. Frac Tech said it has benefited from a "dramatic increase" in horizontal drilling and increases in the number of hydraulic fracturing stages per well, shale drilling in general, and international drilling. Frac Tech stressed that regulation was among its most significant investment risks. "We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations regarding issues of health, safety and protection of the environment," Frac Tech said. "Under these laws and regulations, we may become liable for penalties, damages or costs of remediation or other corrective measures. Any changes in laws or government regulations could increase our costs of doing business." In addition to Chesapeake Operating, the company's largest shareholders are Maju Investments of Mauritius, 40.3 percent; Senja Capital, 11.2 percent; and Cowboy Investment, 7 percent. Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Credit Suisse are underwriting the IPO. Scott Nishimura, 817-390-7808 Looking for comments? Read more: star-telegram.com