News & Insights

Cantera Energy, LLC Receives $100 Million Equity Commitment

October 3, 2012

Energy Private Equity

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–John Kelly and Nico Garza announced today that they have formed Cantera Energy, LLC (“Cantera”), an independent oil and natural gas company headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. Cantera will focus on the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas properties with identifiable exploitation and development upside in the onshore Gulf Coast regions. Cantera is an investment portfolio company of Kayne Anderson Energy Funds (“Kayne Anderson”), with an initial equity commitment from Kayne Anderson Energy Fund VI and management of $100 million.

Prior to forming Cantera, Mr. Kelly and Mr. Garza worked together at El Paso Exploration and Production (“El Paso”), where Mr. Kelly served as Vice President of the Southern Division and Mr. Garza served as Director of El Paso’s Haynesville Shale position. The management team has a combined 36 years of upstream experience with an emphasis on technical evaluation and operational execution.

Mr. Kelly graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering. Mr. Garza graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering.

“We are very fortunate to be partnering with John and Nico as they enter the next stage of their highly accomplished careers. In our view, the current market presents an ideal opportunity to partner with Cantera to pursue acquisitions as sellers continue to divest non-core assets to fund the development of capital intensive resource plays,” stated David Iverson, Managing Director at Kayne Anderson. John Kelly, Chairman and President of Cantera, had this to say about the partnership: “Nico and I are extremely excited to be launching our new venture with the support and confidence of Kayne Anderson. The entire Kayne Anderson Team is well respected in the industry and has proven their commitment to realizing the full value of all their portfolio companies. We look forward to building an enterprise that combines technical and operational excellence, significantly enhancing the overall value of our assets.”

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