• LL&E Royalty Trust, Austin, Texas, (NYSE: LRT) has been terminated following two successive years of net revenue of less than $5 million. Net revenues for 2007 were approximately $2 million, and for 2006 were approximately $2.1 million. The trustee will sell the assets for cash and distribute net proceeds to investors. The sale of all assets is expected to last through June.

LL&E Royalty’s assets include net overriding royalty interests in certain productive oil and gas properties in Alabama, Florida and offshore Louisiana. It also owns 3% royalty interests in approximately 400,000 acres of unleased, undeveloped southern Louisiana fee lands. The trust was created pursuant to an agreement between The Louisiana Land & Exploration Co. and First City National Bank of Houston in 1983.

• Fort Smith, Ark.-based Highland Oil & Gas LLC has received equity commitments of up to $100 million from private-equity firm Kayne Anderson Energy Funds, management and others.

Highland was formed in October by Mike Oxley and Elwin A. Hoover to focus on conventional gas resources in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Collectively, management has drilled more than 1,000 wells and developed more than 600 billion cu. ft. of gas equivalent in the Arkoma and Anadarko basins.

Oxley is president and chief executive. Hoover is vice president, Arkoma. Ken Black is vice president, Anadarko. Pam Ibbetson is vice president, land. Kayne Anderson Energy Funds manages $1.85 billion of committed capital for energy private-equity investments.

• National Energy Resources Acquisition Co. has filed an S-1 to IPO 10 million units at $10 each for a total raise of $100 million on the American Stock Exchange as NER-U. Merrill Lynch and Ferris, Baker Watts Inc. are underwriters. Proceeds will be used to acquire target businesses and pay taxes.

Cortlandt S. Dietler is chairman. He has formed and managed more than 20 companies, including TransMontaigne?Inc., midstream-focused Associated Natural Gas Corp. and Western Crude Oil?Inc. Patrick?R. McDonald is chief executive and president. He is also CEO and president of Nytis Exploration Co., Nytis Exploration Co. USA and its operating subsidiaries. Harold?R. Logan?Jr. is treasurer. He co-founded TransMontaigne?and was chief financial officer, executive vice president and treasurer.

National Energy Resources is a blank-check company that seeks a business combination with companies focused in the energy and natural resources industries.

• Contango Oil & Gas Co., in Houston, (Amex: MCF) plans to sell its 10% limited-partnership interest in Freeport LNG Development LP offshore Texas to an undisclosed Asian utility company for approximately $68 million. Freeport is developing a liquefied gas receiving and gasification terminal on Quintana Island, near Freeport, Texas. Contango owns the interest through subsidiary Contango Sundance Inc. The sale is part of Contango’s strategic alternatives plan.

Contango will use the proceeds to pay a $20-million term loan from Royal Bank of Scotland, fund working capital and fund offshore E&P in the Gulf of Mexico. Merrill Lynch & Co. is financial advisor to Contango.

• Petroleum Development Corp., Bridgeport, W.Va., (Nasdaq: PETD) reports it does not plan to sponsor new drilling partnerships in 2008 and will instead focus on existing partnerships and growth through drilling and exploration. Petroleum Development has formed 77 partnerships during the past 24 years, and repurchased 44 of them in January 2007. It remains the largest investor in the remaining partnerships.

Petroleum Development chairman and chief executive Steven R. Williams says, “The partnerships have been an integral part of PDC’s history and success. We thank our many friends in the broker-dealer community, our loyal investors and our dedicated wholesalers for their participation in past partnerships. We will continue to fulfill our responsibilities to the remaining partnerships even as we move forward in the future.”

Richard W. McCullough has been named chief executive, effective sometime in 2008. He is chief financial officer. Williams plans to retire as CEO this year.

• Los Angeles-based international asset management firm The TCW Group Inc. has formed TCW Energy Partners LLC to invest in energy and infrastructure assets globally. The company offered 9.7 million units at $20 each for a total $194 million. Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse were agents. TCW Energy Partners also plans a liquidity facility to raise total capitalization to approximately $388 million.

TCW Group chief executive Robert Beyer says, “TEP provides TCW permanent capital to support the continued development of our market-leading franchise in energy and infrastructure. We are committed to providing our clients with innovative products across our alternative investment platform. TEP represents an important continuation of these efforts in that it greatly expands the universe of investors that have access to private alternative investments in a more liquid format.”

R. Blair Thomas has been named chairman and CEO of TCW Energy Partners. He remains head of TCW Group’s energy and infrastructure group.

Thomas says, “Market fundamentals in energy and infrastructure are incredibly strong right now and TEP will be well-positioned to capture attractive investment opportunities for our client. It is a testament to the strength of our franchise and the outlook for the sector that we were able to successfully close this transaction in the face of the strong head winds impacting the financial markets generally.”

• Houston-based private-equity firm Avista Capital Partners has named Trevor Turbidy energy industry advisor. He was chief executive of Trico Marine Services and has experience in the investment-banking divisions of Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Avista co-managing partner and president Steven Webster says, “Trevor is an ideal addition to our energy practice because he has the perfect combination of deal experience from his energy investment banking days, and operational expertise from his tenure at Trico.”

Avista closed its inaugural $2-billion private-equity fund in June and has committed $1.4 billion in investments in 17 portfolio companies broadly diversified in the healthcare, media and energy industries. Its current portfolio of energy companies includes seismic acquisition and data processing service provider Geokinetics, offshore drill-rig operator Frontier Drilling, Gulf of Mexico-focused offshore drilling and production unit service Blake Offshore, and E&P companies Celtique Energie, Laramie Energy, Manti Exploration and Peregrine Oil and Gas.

• Broadpoint Capital Inc., the broker-dealer subsidiary of New York City-based First Albany Cos. Inc. (Nasdaq: BPSG), will be renamed Broadpoint Securities Group Inc. Thomas E. Covington has been named managing director, covering the E&P sector. He was a senior analyst with A.G. Edwards.

• Commercial finance company CIT Group Inc., New York, (NYSE: CIT) has named Peter Gaw president of Houston-based CIT Energy, which provides financing and advisory products to E&P and power companies. He was executive vice president and head of energy and resources Americas and global head of power and utilities for ABN Amro Bank.

CIT president, corporate finance, Walter Owens says, “Peter’s appointment will allow us to further advance our key strategic initiatives as we look to significantly build our energy business. His specialized knowledge and industry relationships will greatly benefit our efforts to provide financial solutions to our middle market clients.”

• Greenwich, Conn.-based private-equity firm First Reserve Corp. has named Rahman D’Argenio, Jeff Quake and Josh Weiner to its board. D’Argenio provides deal origination, structuring and monitoring services in power and energy. Quake provides deal origination, structuring and monitoring services in infrastructure and related sectors for the firm. Weiner directs capital-market activities in existing portfolio companies and new investments.

• Energy technology private-equity fund NGP Energy Technology Partners LP has named Brad L. Barton a principal. He was director of commercialization and deployment for the Department of Energy’s office of energy efficiency and renewable energy and has experience with Hillwood Development, a Perot company, where he managed investments in natural gas, pharmaceuticals, clean energy and enterprise software.

NGP Energy’s managing partner Philip J. Deutch says, “Brad’s background mirrors the focus of the fund. He has experience in both private equity and energy technology and at DOE, Brad focused on commercializing technologies, precisely what the companies in our portfolio do every day. Brad is an excellent addition to our team.”

Also Jason E. Hicks has been named a principal. He was vice president and has experience at Citigroup in M&A and leveraged finance.

• Dallas-based offshore assets investor Mike Mullen Energy Equipment Resource Inc. will receive a $54-million investment from GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, Stamford, Conn., (NYSE: GE) which will also co-finance the acquisition of a ship drilling for oil in deep water offshore Brazil. GE Capital Markets, an affiliate of GE Energy Financial Services, is a mandated lead arranger for $259 million in senior debt facilities along with New York-based WestLB AG, which is also agent.