• Weisser, Johnson & Co., Houston, has formed GasRock Capital LLC to make direct mezzanine debt investments in oil and gas as well as midstream energy projects and companies. GasRock received commitments from financial institutions that manage investment funds exceeding $7 billion. GasRock's primary focus is project debt investments in upstream or midstream energy projects, or acquisitions of between $5 million and $50 million, or larger. "Mezzanine debt has been a preferred source of capital for domestic independents for well over the last two decades," says Frank Weisser, managing director of GasRock. "The structure doesn't have the control issues of equity, and is far less dilutive, which is why it is a very popular source of capital for development projects and acquisitions." Weisser Johnson will act as the manager of GasRock. Brittany Capital Group Inc. was advisor to GasRock. • Houston-based Seacor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CKH) and Louisiana-based Offshore Logistics Inc. (NYSE: OLG) and Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (NYSE: PHI) report that the Department of Justice's antitrust division has requested information as part of a broader grand jury investigation of potential antitrust violations. The companies are three of the largest providers of helicopter transportation services to oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services reports that the announcement has no ratings effect for any of the companies at this time. • Petrie Parkman & Co. was recently named best investment bank in the world in the oil and gas sector for 2005, and Blackstone Group was named best private-equity investment bank. The annual Global Finance survey also singled out Goldman Sachs as the best investment bank globally. Merrill Lynch was named best equity bank; Citigroup, best debt bank; and JPMorgan Chase, best M&A bank. UBS won five awards, and JPMorgan Chase and Merrill Lynch followed with four awards each. The survey considered deals announced or completed in all industries in the last three quarters of 2004 and in first-quarter 2005. • Tristone Capital LP, Houston, has appointed David Marcell managing director, A&D, business development. Marcell was with Friedman Billings Ramsey and CIBC World Markets. Dane Isenhower has been promoted to managing director, acquisitions and divestitures. • UBS reports that David Waring has been named joint head of energy-investment banking, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Waring will join UBS in September as managing director. Previously, he was head of energy, Europe, with Deutsche Bank. Jerry Schretter has been named managing director in the energy investment-banking group and Daniel J. Ward has been named managing director in the mergers and acquisitions investment-banking group. Schretter was with Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley's energy investment-banking group. Ward was also with Deutsche Bank and with Morgan Stanley's M&A group. • Houston-based Hercules Offshore LLC has filed for an IPO on Nasdaq valued at approximately $172.5 million. The number of shares to be offered and an anticipated price range were not disclosed. Proceeds will pay down debt and be used for general corporate purposes. Lead underwriters are Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Credit Suisse First Boston LLC. Underwriters are Howard Weil Inc. and Simmons & Co. International. • Kayne Anderson Energy Total Return Fund Inc., Los Angeles, (NYSE: KYE) a newly organized, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company, has commenced its initial public offering of 30 million shares at US$25 each for gross proceeds of $750 million. The fund will invest primarily in securities of companies engaged in the energy industry. The fund will be managed by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP. The fund's chief executive officer is Kevin S. McCarthy. • SouthView Energy LLC, Houston, has been formed with a private-equity commitment of $50 million from Jefferies Capital Partners, with an option for an additional $50 million later as needed. It will provide drilling capital to domestic independents. Jefferies Capital Partners is a private-equity management firm with $1 billion under management. SouthView's chief executive is Jack W. Schanck. He was most recently co-CEO of privately held Samson Investments in Tulsa and formerly chief of the Spirit Energy 76 business of Unocal (NYSE: UCL). David L. Bole, SouthView president, was a managing director at Randall & Dewey, the financial and transaction advisory firm recently acquired by Jefferies & Co. SouthView's approach will be a bit different than that of other capital providers, explains Schanck. It intends to take only nonoperated interests in low- to moderate-risk exploitation and development drilling opportunities alongside other E&P companies as a partner. Initially it will pursue deals in the $2- to $20-million range in the Midcontinent, East Texas, Upper Texas Gulf Coast, North Louisiana and the Permian Basin. "This new company will not operate. If projects meet our criteria, we're happy to invest in them. We will help finance what I call 'small E' exploration that doesn't have to have a proved developed (PDP) component," Schanck says. "Or, if someone has bought a property that has a higher percentage of proved undeveloped assets, and they're not sure how risky they really are, we would be willing to contribute investment capital for exploitation of those PUDs, separate from their financing for the proved developed portion of the deal. We'd come in after the acquisition was made." As a separate entity, the new company is not a subsidiary or affiliate of either Jefferies or Randall & Dewey, Schanck says, "but we do have the option to access their technical and financial resources on a contract basis." • New York-based Patriot Exploration Co. Inc. has found its investment niche in E&P companies looking to do drilling deals between $2- and $10 million that want to hang on to their upside. Having recently completed deals with Petrobridge Investment Management and PPC, the firm is now looking to partner up with 10 to 15 companies that have proven track records and drilling expertise. Five-year-old Patriot is led by Jonathan Feldman as founder and principal at its New York headquarters, and senior managing director Carter Henson Jr. in Houston. Previously, Feldman invested exclusively in real estate through his wholly owned company, Millennium Properties. "We came to the energy space through a series of investments. When oil was at $12 a bbl. and gas was $1.50 I thought it was a good time to get in." Henson was senior vice president at Netherland & Sewell for 17 years. "We plan to spend $25 million by the end of the year and $50 million in 2006," says Feldman. "We're interested in $2- to $10-million deals because we think there is a big market there that is underserved. Financing for these companies is usually very expensive." Patriot provides subordinated debt and equity to projects it would be interested in drilling anyway, Feldman says. It also incorporates partnership interests into some of its deal structures. In the end, the producers Patriot works with are often able to keep 100% of the upside. "You may need $5- to $6 million to drill," Feldman says, "so we'll put it in and put a cap on our return. We get a second position against existing assets and a high teen to low-20 return with retained interest in the wellbores only. The company gets a lowered cost of capital and avoids giving up a piece of the company. We just own a piece of the wellbore." Feldman expects to average five to 10 commitments per year. Long term, he's interested in establishing an equity position in overall assets. • Petrie Parkman & Co. Inc., Houston, has named Randall E. King and Jon C. Hughes co-heads of investment banking. Both have been shareholders of the firm since its inception in 1989. King was head of the firm's divestiture group and Hughes was head of Petrie Parkman's merger group. Mark L. Deverka and Mark L. Carmain will become shareholders of the firm and will assume increased responsibilities in managing the investment-banking business. Deverka will be responsible for coordinating and delivering investment-banking client services, while Carmain will be in charge of product development and enhancement of the Petrie Parkman core competencies. • Craig Lande has joined Houston-based A&D firm Richardson Barr & Co. as a vice president. Lande was formerly with asset-broker Waterous & Co. in its Houston office.

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