• Tecton Energy LLC, Houston, received a $30-million equity commitment from affiliates of Quantum Energy Partners to fund E&P activities in unconventional gas plays in the Rockies and Canada. Tecton is managed by Bill Dirks, Ali Daneshy and John Griffin. Dirks, Tecton chief executive, says, "Quantum was the first group we spoke with and we kept coming back. Their combination of upstream experience and financial engineering expertise coupled with their track record and flexibility was very attractive." • Bob Cavnar, Rick Piacenti, Jack Eells and other former executives of Mission Resources Corp. have formed Houston-based Milagro Exploration with approximately $11 million of backing from its founders. In addition, the company expects to close an initial private-equity placement of approximately $75 million. Milagro's operations are focused primarily onshore the Gulf Coast. It is currently participating in one well in Texas and one in Louisiana. Cavnar is president and chief executive; Piacenti is executive vice president and chief financial officer; and Eells is executive vice president, exploration and geoscience. • Dallas-based Exco Resources Inc. (NYSE: XCO) has priced its IPO of 50 million shares at $13 each for proceeds of about $650 million. Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. were lead underwriters. A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., Credit Suisse First Boston LLC and KeyBanc Capital Markets were underwriters. Proceeds, plus cash and borrowings, will pay off an equity buyout, $508.8 million in debt from the company's Oneok Energy acquisition and offering fees, plus fund the redemption of some preferred stock. Since 1998, Exco has increased its proved reserves from 4.7 billion cu. ft. equivalent to 684.1 billion on a pro forma basis, and its average daily production increased from less than 1 million cu. ft. equivalent per day in 1997 to 118.9 million in September 2005. Exco was public until 2003, when insiders bought out the shares. • CNX Gas Corp., Pittsburgh, (NYSE: CXG) shares began trading at $21.75 each in mid-January. The 27.9 million shares were privately placed in August at $16 each in a 144(a) offering by Friedman Billings Ramsey. CNX received aggregate proceeds of $420.2 million in that offering. CNX is focused on natural gas and coalbed methane in the Appalachian Basin. The company recently acquired all of Consol Energy Inc.'s (NYSE: CNX) rights to CBM associated with 4.5 billion tons of coal reserves owned or controlled by Consol in northern Appalachia and central Appalachia, the Illinois Basin and some western basins. Consol Energy continues to beneficially own approximately 81.5% of outstanding CNX shares. • Addax Petroleum Corp., Calgary, (Toronto: AXC) has priced its IPO of 21 million shares at C$19.50 each for proceeds of about C$409.5 million. The underwriting syndicate was led by RBC Capital Markets and Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. as joint book-runners, co-led by Scotia Capital Inc., and included CIBC World Markets Inc., TD Securities Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., Canaccord Capital Corp., FirstEnergy Capital Corp. and Peters & Co. Ltd. The underwriters have an option to purchase up to 2.1 million additional shares. Addax is an international E&P company focused on Africa and the Middle East. The company increased its oil production from an average of 8,800 bbl. per day in 1998 to some 74,450 per day in October 2005. • The New York Mercantile Exchange has entered a joint venture with Dubai to create the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, according to Gary King, the Dubai exchange's chief executive. "The (Persian) Gulf has really benefited from high commodity prices," King said. "They have all this liquidity that has to go somewhere." The Dubai exchange will be electronic and based on prices of Middle East sour crude. "The exchange will fit the time-zone gap between Singapore and the Middle East, and allow people to hedge on sour crude," King said. "Right now hedging only exists for sweet crude, so we think this fits a real need in the marketplace." • EnCana Corp. Calgary, (Toronto, NYSE: ECA) has received an unsolicited mini-tender offer by Toronto-based TRC Capital Corp. to purchase up to 2 million (approximately 0.25%) of outstanding EnCana common shares at C$54.50 each. The price represents a 3.96% discount to the C$56.75 closing price the day before the offer was made. EnCana has recommended that its shareholders reject the offer. • Bronco Energy Fund Inc., Tucson, Ariz., has named Peter F. Olnowich vice president, corporate development, to lead acquisition and funding activities. The fund aims to place capital in coal, oil and gas, clean power-generation and gas-to-liquids projects. Olnowich was head of the New York office of mining and metals advisory with Standard New York Securities Inc. and a managing director in the global metals and mining group at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. • FirstMerit Bank, Canton, Ohio, has formed FirstMerit Commercial Energy Group to provide reserve-based and project financing to independents in the Appalachian, Illinois and Michigan basins. The group is looking to do deals between $500,000 and $40 million. Daniel K. McGill is regional president and chief executive; James S. Bolinger, senior vice president of commercial banking; Milton J. Haynes, vice president of commercial banking; and Gayland R. Stehle, vice president of commercial banking and petroleum engineer. • Gordon W. Washburn will join the Gamco Investors Inc., Rye, N.Y., (NYSE: GBL) institutional research arm, Gabelli & Co. Inc., to cover the oil-service and equipment, nuclear energy and coal degasification sectors. Washburn was an analyst with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. and with the U.S. Department of Energy's office of foreign intelligence. • Petroleum Development Corp., Bridgeport, W.V., (Nasdaq: PETD) has closed its third and final 2005 drilling partnership with approximately $36 million in subscriptions. This brings the total partnership subscriptions for 2005 to $116 million, a new record for PDC. Separately, the company has regained compliance with Nasdaq while revising past SEC filings. • The number of rigs working in the U.S. and its waters climbed past 1,500 for the first time in 16 years in February, according to a tally by Baker Hughes Inc. About 1,513 rigs were employed nationally, compared with 1,594 in early February 1986. • Minerals Management Service director Johnnie Burton says the offshore oil and gas industry "has compiled an outstanding safety record" that was made more apparent by last year's hurricanes. "Two major hurricanes passed through the Gulf of Mexico last year without causing a single significant spill from outer continental shelf wells," Burton says. "Overall, roughly 150 times more oil seeps into U.S waters from natural cracks in the seabed than is spilled from oil and gas activities on the outer continental shelf." • Regency Energy Partners LP, Dallas, (Nasdaq: RGNC) priced its IPO of 13.8 million units at $20. The initial price range was expected to be between $19 and $21. Total proceeds are expected to be approximately $258.3 million. The underwriters have been granted an option to purchase up to an additional 2.1 common units. UBS Investment Bank and Lehman Brothers were joint book-runners, and co-managing underwriters included Citigroup, Wachovia Securities, A.G. Edwards and KeyBanc Capital Markets. • Energy Transfer Equity LP, Dallas, (NYSE: ETE) has priced its IPO of 21 million units at $21 each. ETE owns the general partner interests, 50% of the incentive distribution rights and approximately 33% of the limited partner interests of master limited partnership Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP). The underwriters have an option to purchase up to 3.2 million units. If doing so, gross proceeds will then exceed $500 million. Proceeds will be used to pay some debt, buy back 3.64 million Energy Transfer Partners LP units, redeem 3.5 million common units held by pre-IPO owners, and for general partnership purposes. UBS Investment Bank, Wachovia Securities and Credit Suisse were book-running managers. Co-managing underwriters included A.G. Edwards, RBC Capital Markets, Oppenheimer & Co., Raymond James & Associates and Stephens Inc. ETP owns approximately 11,700 miles of gas-gathering and transportation pipelines, treating and processing assets in Texas and Louisiana, and three storage facilities in Texas. • Magellan Midstream Holdings LP, Tulsa, Okla., owner of the general-partner interest and 100% of the incentive distribution rights in Magellan Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: MMP), plans an IPO of 17 million units. The price range for the shares has not been determined yet. The proposed symbol on the NYSE is MGC. The offering represents an approximate 27% limited partner interest in Magellan Holdings. The underwriters have an option to purchase an additional 2.55 million units. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Lehman Brothers Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Wachovia Capital Markets LLC are joint book-running managers. A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Raymond James & Associates Inc. and RBC Capital Markets Corp. will be co-managers. Magellan Midstream Partners primarily transports, stores and distributes refined petroleum products.