David Hayes, principal of Dallas-based private-equity provider Natural Gas Partners, said of the credit-market turmoil while at Summer NAPE in Houston, "It's probably factored in a little bit in the leverage we are anticipating for acquisitions.

"If we looked at a $100-million acquisition transaction in June, we might have said we could get $60 million of conventional bank debt. Now, those expectations might be tempered a little bit, especially if it is a second-lien situation.

"But none of the deals we are doing are dependant on whether it is 60% leverage or 50% leverage. It's not going to make or break them. Relative to the broader market, it's not a huge effect on our business. I think there is probably a little pressure on (asset) pricing, but I haven't seen any yet."

Gary Stone, vice president, engineering, with private-capital provider Five States Energy LLC of Dallas, said at Summer NAPE, "We're not seeing any immediate effects from the sub-prime lending problem or any effects from interest rates. Money is still prevalent in this industry. Many E&Ps have very little borrowings. Most companies are cash-rich and have minimum amounts borrowed."

Five States recently sold its E&P assets and is currently investing directly in E&P companies and projects.

The broad debt-market situation could create opportunities for some types of financiers. "We think that it could, in fact, help us," Mark D. Hull, vice president of New York-based Prospect Capital Management LLC, said at Summer NAPE. "When liquidity leaves the market, people who have liquidity can find opportunity. We focus on mezzanine lending, and our debt is more attractive now that a lot of the cheap debt has left the market."

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