Earthquake, tsunami affects business around the world page 9
Benbrook sees sales tax hike thanks to Wal-Mart page 15
March 21-27, 2011
Vol. 23, No. 12 • $2.00
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Investments shift toward shale n Holli L. Estridge Special to the Business Press
As capital has increasingly moved toward unconventional gas plays, so has the focus of Energy Spectrum Capital. In 15 years the Dallas-based private equity fund management business has amassed $2 billion in capital commitments in six midstream-focused funds. Since 2002 affiliates of Energy Spectrum Capital also co-manage about $870 million in three upstream-focused funds, under the name Energy Trust. “In the current environment, a significant portion of the investments in our most recent fund (Energy Spectrum Capital V) are
Oil jump helps states plug budget holes
in the shale gas plays,” said Tom Whitener, president and one of Energy Spectrum Capital’s four founding partners. Among the unconventional plays in which Energy Spectrum Capital is active are the Barnett, Haynesville (Louisiana and northeast Texas), Fayetteville (Arkansas), Marcellus (Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York state) and Eagle Ford (South Texas) shales. In early March Energy Spectrum corralled $750 million for its sixth fund, leveraging commitments from 27 investors for midstream acquisitions, according to documents filed with the Texas State Securities Board. See Spectrum u 12
Five vie to succeed Moncrief as Fort Worth mayor n Rob Robertson
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rrobertson@bizpress.net
With the filing deadline now come and gone, the race to replace outgoing Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief is officially under way, with five candidates vying for the city’s top post. The list includes four veterans of Cowtown politics: attorney and former state Rep. Dan Barrett, consultant and former City
Councilwoman Cathy Hirt, attorney and former City Councilman Jim Lane, and current Tarrant County Tax Assessor Betsy Price. The race also includes an outlier, local filmmaker Nicholas Zebrun, who is new to politics. Expect pension reform, economic development, crime, education, and budget priorities to be the hot topics for debate in the coming months. The election is May 14. See mayors u 33
n Darrell Preston Washington Post/Bloomberg News
The Eagle Ford oil field in South Texas is boosting energy-tax revenue in the biggest oil-producing state, generating $40 million in receipts last year – and it’s coming at a time when state legislators are looking down the barrel at a massive budget shortfall. “This is a great addition to the state’s reserves,” said Dominique Halaby, who directs the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Community and Business Research Center and who has studied the field’s economic effects. It may yield an
additional $800 million in state receipts, he said. “It’s a game-changer.” As crude prices have surpassed $100 a barrel since turmoil in North Africa began toppling governments, states led by Texas, Alaska, North Dakota and Louisiana have gained from energy taxes that are tied to market prices. In Texas, that may provide relief for a deficit of as much as $27 billion. “When you see $100-a-barrel oil, it will really create some upside for Texas,” said John Hallacy, Bank of America Merrill Lynch manager of municipal research in New York. “It can bring in new revenue.” See states u 12
There’s an app for this The Fort Worth Business Press launched its iPad app on March 16 with iPhone and Android apps on the way. To read about the apps, see page 7.