PennWell, OGFJ plan second investor forum targeting buy-side analysts, institutional investors, hedge funds

Each year Oil & Gas Financial Journal editors and staff travel to a wide variety of energy investment presentations to gather information and intelligence on companies operating in our sector. This year, we’ve been to IPAA events in New York, San Francisco, and London, as well as that organization’s small-cap conference in Florida. We regularly attend the Howard Weil Energy Conference in New Orleans, John S. Herold’s Pacesetters Conference in Connecticut, and Ener-Com’s investor conferences in Denver and San Francisco.

What has been conspicuous by its absence is an investment symposium of this type in Houston, widely regarded as the center of the oil and gas industry in the United States, if not the world. Last year, PennWell and Oil & Gas Financial Journal decided to do something about it. We organized and hosted the fi rst annual Houston Energy Financial Forum, or HEFF.

One presenter, Jeff Johnson, chairman and CEO of Fort Worth-based Cano Petroleum, called HEFF “long overdue,” adding, “We regularly participate in investor presentations in New York and elsewhere. It’s about time we had one in Houston, Texas, the energy capital of the world.”

The purpose of the event is to provide independent oil and gas companies with the opportunity to make their corporate presentation before an audience of analysts, investors, bankers, and other members of the fi nancial community. Typically these presentations are made by the CEO or CFO and include up-to-date fi nancials and a fairly detailed look at company operations.

Our first investor conference exceeded our expectations in the caliber of presenting companies, 55 in all, as well as the quality and number of attendees. More than 560 attended the inaugural HEFF in November, and an additional 1,000-plus viewed the live webcast or saw the presentations online after the event, making this one of PennWell’s most successful web presentations to date.

This year, PennWell and OGFJ plan to build on last year’s success for the second HEFF event, scheduled for Nov. 18-20 at the Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa. We anticipate between 70 and 100 presenting companies, including separate tracks for E&P, midstream, and oil service companies. Just a few of the companies that have confirmed their participation include Anadarko Petroleum, Ultra Petroleum, Kinder- Morgan, Range Resources, and W&T Offshore. Major sponsors include CIT Energy, Bucking Horse Energy, Cameron, Halliburton, Seismic Micro-Technology, Flotek, and Gardere Wynne Sewell.

New this year is a golf outing on Monday, Nov. 17, at the Redstone Golf Club, home of the Shell Houston Open and Houston’s only PGA tour course.

Nicole Durham, OGFJ publisher, says that PennWell is “looking outside the traditional box” for conference attendees. “We’re not content with merely inviting the same people who attend PennWell, OGFJ plan second investor forum Don Stowers Editor-OGFJ other investor presentations. We’re actively pursuing representatives from institutional investors, energy hedge funds, and buy-side analysts from throughout the United States and even overseas.”

She added, “Presenting companies want to make sure they are reaching new people – not just the analysts and investment bankers who regularly follow their company. Although this will be a Houston event, our attendees will come from all over to hear the latest news from these companies and to have the opportunity to talk with their top executives one-on-one.”

Although there are a number of bank-sponsored investor conferences, both presenters and attendees are attracted to events sponsored by a neutral third-party, such as PennWell. No favoritism is shown to clients, and there is greater exposure to the entire community of analysts and investors.

This year’s Houston Energy Financial Forum will be held shortly after thirdquarter financial results are released for most public companies, so HEFF will be the first opportunity for attendees to hear this latest information.

With the overall economy slowing and oil and gas prices on the rise, there has seldom been a better time to consider investing in the petroleum industry. This November’s HEFF provides an opportunity for participants to see and hear fi rst hand some of the outstanding companies operating in the sector. We hope to see you there.