Westlake Securities Hosts Successful Natural Gas Conference

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A natural gas conference in Austin earlier this month has spawned significant synergies which can only benefit the industry in the United States, says conference host Westlake Securities.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111116/DA08514)

The New Frontiers in Natural Gas Conference was held at the W Hotel in downtown Austin during the first week of November. Westlake Securities Austin-based Partner and Managing Director Randy Finch said the 80 conference delegates represented the entire spectrum of production, storage and transportation sectors in the natural gas industry, and included a number of companies developing new or alternative uses of natural gas.

"To my knowledge this is the first time an investment banking company has put on this type of conference. The purpose of the conference was to bring together representatives at all levels in the natural gas supply chain with potential investors and to provide the latest insights from experts in the industry.

"Westlake Securities is very focused on the energy industry because of where we are located and our background and expertise, so the conference was a natural fit for us," Mr. Finch said.

"We believe natural gas is the foundation of our energy future. Studies show the US has enough untapped natural gas to power our needs for decades to come. The largest consumers of oil in the U.S. are currently diesel and gasoline-powered fleets and trucks that move goods. Just converting those fleets alone to natural gas would reduce the US's dependence on foreign oil by 30%, with a corresponding 30% reduction in greenhouse gases*.

"The US currently spends $500 billion per annum buying oil from foreign countries, many of whom are not friendly to the U.S. Large scale conversion to natural gas would be a huge leap forward for our country's economy as well as our national security. So to have people involved in natural gas production, storage, transportation and alternative usage meeting directly with potential investors at our conference was exciting, and it has already resulted in some significant conversations."

The keynote speaker was Roland Sledge, chairman of VAALCO Energy and the current Republican candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission. Conference sponsors included Clean Energy, Horizon Bank, Inoxcva, PMB Helin Donovan, Prometheus Energy and Salof Companies. Conference speakers included Baker Hughes, Altronic GTI Bi-Fuel, Applied Natural Gas Fuels Inc, Clean Air Power, GreenMan Technologies/American Power Group, Vehicle Production Group and Westport Innovations.

Westlake Securities is in the process of planning another energy conference for Fall 2012.

For more information please contact
Randy Finch
Partner and Managing Director
Westlake Securities LLC
Tel: (512) 314 0711
Mob: (512) 4844 777
[email protected]

About Westlake Securities

Westlake Securities is a full service investment firm with offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Lafayette It is one of the few firms nationwide offering a full array of investment banking, institutional sales and trading, underwriting and financial advisory services to the middle market. Please visit www.westlakesecurities.com for further information.

* Source: J.S.Quad, Energy Information Administration

SOURCE Westlake Securities