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Natural gas processing plant announced

Staff Report

Caballo Energy,  LLC  (Caballo)  announced  today  that  the company  is building a new cryogenic processing plant to serve expanding natural gas production in the liquids‐rich Mississippi Lime and Cana Woodford Shale plays. Known as the Carmen Gas Processing Plant, the new facility will have the capacity to process 60 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (MMcf/d), bringing Caballo’s processing capacity in the region to approximately 100 MMcf/d. 

The Carmen plant will be in service by the end of the first quarter of 2013. The plant is strategically located near Carmen, Oklahoma, at the intersection of the liquids-­‐rich Mississippi Lime and Cana Woodford Shale plays. The 160‐acre site allows for the construction of a second cryogenic processing plant at the same location.   

The new Carmen plant and Caballo’s existing Eagle Chief plant serve the company’s Eagle Chief system, which includes more than 600 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines and compression facilities located in Alfalfa, Blaine, Garfield, Major and Woods counties. Caballo delivers processed gas to the ONEOK Gas Transportation and Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line. Natural gas liquids are delivered to the ONEOK NGL Pipeline.  The  Eagle  Chief  system  also  includes  salt  water disposal  and  crude  oil  gathering  systems. Caballo acquired the Eagle Chief system in December 2011.  

Caballo also announced the addition of three new executives who will play key leadership roles as the company continues to expand. Glenn Powell has joined Caballo as chief commercial officer. Mr. Powell previously  served  as  the  chief  operating  officer  Atlas  Pipeline  Partners,  L.P.  (NYSE:  APL)  and  has significant experience in commercial development. Wayne Bennett has also joined Caballo as director of engineering operations. Prior to joining Caballo, Mr. Bennett served as senior engineering technician for ScissorTail Energy, LLC (now Copano Energy, LLC, NASDAQ: CPNO) and as area manager for the Elk City subsidiary  of  Atlas  Pipeline  Partners,  L.P.  Mr.  Bennett  brings  Caballo  extensive  experience  in  the construction   and  operation   of  natural   gas processing   plants  and  pipeline   systems.   Finally,   Rich McCullough has joined Caballo Energy as vice president of finance and accounting. Mr. McCullough is a certified public accountant and most recently served as the manager of financial reporting for Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP) and an audit manager for Grant Thornton LLP. Mr. McCullough has important experience  in  the  midstream  natural  gas  business  and  expertise  in  various  technical accounting matters including business combinations and derivatives.     

“The  construction  of  the  Carmen  plant  is  a  first  but  very  important  step  in  our expansion  of  the  Eagle Chief  system,”  said  Caballo  President  and  CEO  Bob  Firth. “The  liquids-­‐rich  gas  found in  the  Mississippi Lime  and  Cana  Woodford  shale  formations  provides  an  attractive  return  for  producers, even  under current pricing conditions.   We believe this area has significant potential for future growth and we are excited to be in a position to provide the processing capabilities our customers need. Our plans also call for the development of an additional cryogenic processing plant next to the Carmen plant. An additional plant  could  be  up  and  running  rapidly  depending  upon  market conditions  and  demand,  further enhancing our ability to meet the needs of our customers.

Additionally, the hiring of these three highly experienced executives -­‐ Glenn  Powell, Wayne  Bennett  and  Rich  McCullough -­‐ enhances  an already strong management team and opens up new business avenues.”

Tulsa based Caballo Energy is a midstream services company formed to acquire, develop and manage natural gas gathering, compression, treating, processing and marketing assets.

The  members of  Caballo’s senior  management   team  collectively   have  more  than  100 years  of experience in natural gas gathering and processing. Caballo’s business philosophy is distinguished by an overriding commitment to safety, the development of collaborative relationships across the midstream value chain, a focus on highly efficient operations and rapid response to customer needs. Caballo is supported with a private equity commitment from EnCap Flatrock Midstream of San Antonio. Visit www.CaballoEnergy.com  for more information.

Based in San Antonio, EnCap Flatrock Midstream provides value-­‐added private equity capital to proven management  teams  focusing  on  midstream  energy  infrastructure   opportunities throughout  North America. EnCap Flatrock is led by managing partners William D. Waldrip, William R. Lemmons Jr. and Dennis F. Jaggi. With more than 100 years of midstream experience, the principals at EnCap Flatrock Midstream manage  investment  commitments  of nearly  $3 billion from  a broad  group  of prestigious institutional investors.  Visit www.efmidstream.com for more information.

Egypt’s Islamic TV talks with iron Salafist

Staff Report

A Muslim cleric hosting an Egyptian television show recently outlined his version of Islamic instructions for wife-beating. In another show, a cleric claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood, now governing Egypt, one day will rule the world.

“If not through peace, there is nothing preventing war. We welcome war,” said the second cleric, who added that “one of the tenets of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they cannot renounce,” is the goal of global dominance by an Islamic caliphate.
 
The shows aired on Egypt’s Al Nas network, a hard-line Salafist Muslim outfit that for years has flown largely under the radar of international observers.
 
The network was thrust into the spotlight last week when it broadcast Arabic-dubbed movie clips from what it described as an English-language film insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Riots and protests erupted throughout the Middle East and other parts of the Muslim world.
 
Protesters breached the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday, destroyed the American flag and raised a black banner used by Islamic extremists.
 
In Libya, terrorists killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and others in an armed attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.
 
Protests continued Sunday when hundreds of Pakistanis clashed with police as they tried to storm the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. One protester was killed and more than a dozen were injured.
 
U.S. officials last week cited Al Nas‘ attention to “Innocence of Muslims” — a crudely made independent film produced in the United States — as a flash point behind the wave of anti-American unrest.
 
Like Al Jazeera, CNN Arabic and other international satellite stations, Al Nas broadcasts live on YouTube and is piped into millions of homes across the Middle East.

Click here to read more: Egypt’s Islamic TV talks with iron Salafist – Washington Times

Egypt’s Islamic TV talks with iron Salafist

Staff Report

A Muslim cleric hosting an Egyptian television show recently outlined his version of Islamic instructions for wife-beating. In another show, a cleric claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood, now governing Egypt, one day will rule the world.

“If not through peace, there is nothing preventing war. We welcome war,”
said the second cleric, who added that “one of the tenets of the Muslim
Brotherhood, which they cannot renounce,” is the goal of global
dominance by an Islamic caliphate.

The shows aired on Egypt’s Al Nas network, a hard-line Salafist Muslim outfit that for years has flown largely under the radar of international observers.
 
The network was thrust into the spotlight last week when it broadcast Arabic-dubbed movie clips from what it described as an English-language film insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Riots and protests erupted throughout the Middle East and other parts of the Muslim world.
 
Protesters breached the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday, destroyed the American flag and raised a black banner used by Islamic extremists.
 
In Libya, terrorists killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and others in an armed attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.
 
Protests continued Sunday when hundreds of Pakistanis clashed with police as they tried to storm the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. One protester was killed and more than a dozen were injured.
 
U.S. officials last week cited Al Nas‘ attention to “Innocence of Muslims” — a crudely made independent film produced in the United States — as a flash point behind the wave of anti-American unrest.
 
Like Al Jazeera, CNN Arabic and other international satellite stations, Al Nas broadcasts live on YouTube and is piped into millions of homes across the Middle East.

Click here to read more: Egypt’s Islamic TV talks with iron Salafist – Washington Times

Key Wins

David Arnett, Founder

Pat Key’s victory in the recent County Clerk runoff election was upheld by Tulsa County District Judge William Kellough on Friday thus ending a contentious battle within Tulsa County’s Republican Party that threatened to politicize a County office known for nonpartisan service.

Floyd Dean Martin had challenged for the office with the endorsement and active support of Tulsa County Assessor Ken Yazel and former-State Senator Randy Brogdon who now works for the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner.

Key is currently the Chief Deputy in the Clerk’s office and will assume the elected post after 13 years with the office and 11 years as Chief Deputy. 

The Clerk’s office is responsible for; recording and archiving County property
records, managing the County wide payroll system, administering the
retirement system, processing payment for all County bills and producing
the County’s annual financial report. 

Key has a degree in government from East Central University and a member of the Oklahoma County Officers and Deputies Association, the National Association of Clerks and Recorders and other professional associations.  A longtime Republican activist, Pat Key has served as both treasurer and president of the Republican Women’s Club of Tulsa County.

Prior to moving to Tulsa County, Key owned and operated a John Deere dealership and a cattle operation in McAlester, Oklahoma.

Martin had asked for a new election or that he be declared the winner because of what attorney John DesBarres called "a totality of defects that bring into question the validity of the absentee voting process in this particular election."

Martin and his team originally challenged not on the ballots themselves, but on the accompanying affidavits and the way the ballots and affidavits were processed.  Because the actual ballots weren’t being challenged, Martin needed Kellough only to rule at least 184 affidavits invalid to create mathematical uncertainty about the election’s outcome.

Kellough ruled out a handful of affidavits, but said the problems were insufficient to call a new election.

Kellough threw out seven affidavits for reasons that included signatures that did not match the name of the voter, missing notary information and failure to obtain valid witness signatures on nursing home ballots. He said he allowed other affidavits even though they contained minor defects.

Key’s attorney, Donald Bingham, argued that case law allows considerable latitude for absentee ballot irregularities and that to throw out the Aug. 28 results would not only disenfranchise all of those voters but have a chilling effect on absentee voting in the future.

Martin, represented by DesBarres and Jim Goodwin, indicated that an appeal of Kellough’s decision is unlikely.

Key said she "felt like the case law was on our side, but when you get to court you never know what’s going to happen."

The Tulsa County Election Board is expected to meet Wednesday to certify the election results.

Both Yazel and Brogdon are known as Radical RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) frequently associated with angry disputes with other elected officials.  Click here to read the details of debate between Tulsa County Commissioner John Smaligo and Yazel. 

Observers suggest Yazel desperately campaigned for Martin with the objective to grow his political and media leverage on the Budget Board.  Yazel often makes outrageous claims of Tulsa County malfeasance without proof.  As this writer noted in the Smaligo vs. Yazel debate analysis, “Words like bribery, lying, [officials] ought to have their butts kicked, misuse of your dollars, frequently float from Yazel’s mouth like flatulence.”  Both Yazel and Key will serve on the Tulsa County Budget Board where Yazel is consistently outvoted 7 to 1.  

Tulsa County is one of only five counties in the nation to be rated A+ by the Sunshine Review Project for Openness and Transparency and Pat Key was an important part of achieving that high standard.

Netanyahu: I’m not interfering

Staff Report

In an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu dismissed as “completely groundless” allegations he is manufacturing a crisis with US President Barack Obama just before the November 6 American election to influence the outcome in favor of Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

Netanyahu, in a Rosh Hashana interview that will appear in full on Sunday, said his call for the United States and the international community to set red lines for Iran was not at all connected with the US political campaign.

“It has nothing to do with the American elections, because the Iranian nuclear program doesn’t care about the American political calendar,” the prime minister said.

“If the centrifuges stop miraculously, if they stop preparing enriched uranium to make atomic bombs, then I suppose I wouldn’t have to speak out.

“But the Iranian nuclear program proceeds unabated and they don’t care about the internal American political calendar. For me this is a policy issue, a security issue, and not a political issue,” he said.

Netanyahu characterized his post-midnight telephone call Wednesday with Obama as a “good conversation.”

“We spoke about our common goal of stopping Iran from developing its nuclear weapons program, and our desire to closely coordinate our efforts,” he related.

When asked whether Obama referred to his comments that those who do not place red lines in front of the Iranians cannot place a red light in front of Israel, Netanyahu replied that he was “not going to get into details of this discussion.

“Obviously I have my views and am not exactly shy about expressing them when I think that Israel’s vital security concerns are involved,” Netanyahu said. “This is my responsibility as the prime minister of the Jewish state.

We are facing the greatest security challenge of any country on the face of the earth, and when I feel I need to speak out, I do.”

Click here for more from The Jerusalem Post.