Tengasco and Atmos Energy Marketing Enter Methane Gas Sale and Purchase Contract
September 02 2009 - 5:12PM
PR Newswire (US)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tengasco, Inc.
(NYSE Amex: TGC) announced that on August 27, 2009, the Company
entered into a five-year fixed price gas sales contract with Atmos
Energy Marketing, LLC, ("AEM") in Houston, Texas, a nonregulated
unit of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO). The agreement provides
for the sale of up to 600 MMBtu per day of gas produced by
facilities which extract the methane component of landfill gas
installed by the Company's subsidiary, Manufactured Methane
Corporation ("MMC"), at the Carter Valley Landfill in Church Hill,
Tennessee. The contract is effective beginning with September 2009
gas production and ends July 31, 2014. The agreed contract price of
approximately $6.00 per MMBtu is a premium to the five-year strip
price for natural gas on the NYMEX futures market. MMC currently
produces an average of about 500 MMBtu per day from the Carter
Valley landfill, equivalent to about 500,000 cubic feet of methane
gas, and this is expected to increase with the growth of the Carter
Valley Landfill. Jeffrey R. Bailey, CEO of Tengasco, said: "We
believe that the fixed price that we will receive under this
agreement for our methane gas is a very favorable outcome in the
current gas market. The number of our potential customers and
marketing arrangements for the gas produced at the Carter Valley
Landfill is small because our pipeline system is an intrastate
Tennessee line. Although the contract price is fixed for the five
year term of the new agreement, it is more than double the current
market price of natural gas, and we believe most market indicators
for natural gas suggest that our fixed price will be substantially
above the market at least for the reasonably foreseeable future. We
do assume the risk that if market prices for gas increase during
the five year term of the new agreement to above our approximately
$6 fixed price, we will not have the ability to capture those
market peaks that we would have captured had the agreement provided
for a floating price indexed to monthly prices. However, in order
to have the chance to enjoy market prices that might rise in the
future we would also have had to endure the current low market
prices. If we want to enjoy the peaks, we would have to suffer
through the valleys. We believe that on balance the new fixed price
in the agreement at a level far above the current market is the
best alternative available in the current and expected gas markets.
"Importantly, we retain the production tax benefits and any credits
or payments associated with methane capture and destruction or the
reduction in or avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions for the gas
produced. We plan to quantify and certify those types of greenhouse
gas emission credits that are or may become available in order to
provide additional value to our shareholders from this
environmentally beneficial product," said Bailey. The statements
contained in this release that are not purely historical are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable
securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements
regarding "expectations," "anticipations," "intentions," "beliefs,"
or "strategies" regarding the future. Forward-looking statements
also include statements regarding revenue, margins, expenses, and
earnings analysis for 2009 and thereafter; oil and gas prices;
reserve calculation and valuation; exploration activities;
development expenditures; costs of regulatory compliance;
environmental matters; technological developments; future products
or product development; the Company's products and distribution
development strategies; potential acquisitions or strategic
alliances; and liquidity and anticipated cash needs and
availability. The Company's actual results could differ materially
from the forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Tengasco, Inc.
CONTACT: Jeffrey R. Bailey, CEO, Tengasco, +1-865-675-1554 Web
Site: http://www.tengasco.com/
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