OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — April 26, 2006 — At the request of the Kansas Corporation Commission, Kansas Gas Service, a division of ONEOK, Inc., has agreed to provide natural gas sales and transportation services to a group of approximately 350 customers formerly served by Superior Energy Services, L.L.C., resulting from Superior's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on April 10, 2006.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the KCC have approved Kansas Gas Service's application to serve Superior's customers, on an interim basis, until the earlier of June 30, 2006, or until the date Superior's assets are purchased out of bankruptcy.
"We understand the impact this bankruptcy filing will have on Superior's customers," said Brad Dixon, president of Kansas Gas Service. "When the corporation commission staff requested our assistance, we agreed to provide natural gas service to these customers, as stated in the application, for a limited time."
Kansas Gas Service has agreed to operate only a part of Superior's system currently connected to facilities served by Kansas Gas Service or affiliates of ONEOK, Inc., which are located throughout south-central Kansas. In accordance with the application, Kansas Gas Service will be responsible for natural gas distribution, meter reading, billing and responding to natural gas-related emergencies for those affected customers.
"These customers are being notified by Kansas Gas Service to provide updates on recent developments and to keep them informed about what they can expect going forward," stated Dixon.
Kansas Gas Service provides clean, reliable natural gas to more than 642,000 customers in 341 communities in Kansas. Kansas Gas Service is a division of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE), a diversified energy company. We are among the largest natural gas distributors in the United States, serving more than 2 million customers in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. We are a leader in the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas in the mid-continent region of the U.S. and own one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting much of the NGL supply in the mid-continent with two key market centers. Our energy services operation focuses primarily on marketing natural gas and related services throughout the U.S. We are also involved in oil and gas production in Oklahoma and Texas. ONEOK is the majority general partner of Northern Border Partners L.P. (NYSE:NBP), one of the largest publicly-traded limited partnerships. ONEOK is a Fortune 500 company.
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