Gulf of Mexico-focused Bois d'Arc Energy LLC's (NYSE: BDE) initial public offering of 13.5 million shares was priced at $13. The expected range was $12 to $15. Shares traded at around $13 the first day. Proceeds were used to pay debt to Comstock Resources Inc. (NYSE: CRK) and for general corporate purposes. Comstock contributed Gulf of Mexico assets to Bois last year as part of the IPO plan. Comstock owns nearly 50% of Bois shares. Upon closing the IPO, Bois plans to enter a $175-million bank credit facility led by The Bank of Nova Scotia. Raymond James & Associates Inc. was the sole book-running manager for the IPO. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Inc., Johnson Rice & Co. LLC, Harris Nesbitt Corp., Petrie Parkman & Co. Inc., Calyon Securities (USA) Inc., Hibernia Southcoast Capital Inc. and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. were co-managers. Joining the calendar is Denver-based, privately held Energy Corporation of America's plan to spin out its newly formed Appalachian Gas Royalty Trust (NYSE: ANG) in an IPO of 7 million units. The units are expected to be priced at around $21 each. The lone underwriter is Raymond James & Associates Inc., which will be allowed a 750,000-share overallotment. Gross proceeds to ECA are estimated at $162.8 million. The trust may have 7.8 million units outstanding after the offering. The trust holds ECA's net revenue interests in 312 gas-producing wells in the Appalachian Basin in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, as well as interests in lease-holdings in West Virginia and Kentucky. ECA will be obligated to drill 180 development wells on the acreage by March 31, 2009, and intends to do so a year earlier. As of year-end 2004, proved reserves held by the trust total 45.3 billion cubic feet of gas. As part of the deal, the trust will also inherit gas-price-floor contracts associated with the assets. Founded in the Appalachian Basin, where it is one of the largest gas operators, ECA also operates in the deep Wilcox play, South Texas; in the East Coast Basin; and in New Zealand. On July 1, 2004, (its fiscal year-end) ECA held interests in approximately 5,346 gross (3,371 net) wells in the Appalachian Basin, almost all operated. ECA plans to use some $92 million of proceeds to pay senior debt and any of the balance toward $35.4 million of revolving credit facility debt. Meanwhile, The Williams Cos., Tulsa, Okla., (NYSE: WMB) plans to spin out some midstream assets as Williams Partners LP (NYSE: WPZ) in the third quarter in an IPO of 5 million units at an estimated value of $24 each, raising some $120 million. A Williams subsidiary will be the general partner of the new master limited partnership, which will own 40% of the Discovery gas-gathering, transportation, processing and natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation system that runs from the deepwater Gulf of Mexico to onshore Louisiana; the Carbonate Trend sour-gas gathering pipeline offshore Alabama; three integrated NGL storage facilities near Conway, Kan.; and 50% of an NGL fractionator near Conway. The lead manager of the offering will be Lehman Brothers Inc. Co-managers will be Citigroup Global Markets Inc., RBC Capital Markets Corp. and Wachovia Capital Markets. Underwriters may purchase up to an additional 750,000 common units. In another deal, Overland Park, Kan.-based energy MLP investor Tortoise Energy Capital Corp. (NYSE: TYY) plans an IPO of some 200,000 units at an estimated $25 each, raising some $5 million. Lehman Brothers and Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc. are joint book-running managers. Wachovia Securities is joint lead manager. Other underwriters are A.G. Edwards, Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc., Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc., Oppenheimer & Co., RBC Capital Markets, Advest Inc., BB&T Capital Markets, Ferris, Baker Watts Inc., Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Ryan Beck & Co., McGinn, Smith & Co. Inc., Parker/Hunter Inc., Redwine & Co. Inc. and Wunderlich Securities Inc. Tortoise Energy Capital is a newly organized, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. Unlike most investment companies, the company will be taxed as a corporation. Its investment advisor will be Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC, which is investment advisor to Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. (NYSE: TYG), which went public in February 2004. Also, Caribbean-incorporated Teekay Shipping Corp. has spun out its Teekay LNG Partners LP (NYSE: TGP) in a 6-million-unit IPO at $22 per unit, raising some $132 million. Teekay LNG's proceeds will go toward paying $104 million of debt to parent Teekay Shipping; the balance, to fees and working capital. The lead underwriter was Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Other underwriters were A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Jefferies & Co. Inc., Raymond James & Associates Inc., UBS Securities LLC and Wachovia Capital Markets LLC. The master limited partnership has 14.5 million units outstanding of which Teekay Shipping owns some 79%. The MLP was formed in November by Teekay Shipping, the world's largest owner and operator of midsize oil tankers, to expand its operations in the LNG shipping sector. The partnership owns four LNG tankers now. -Oil and Gas Investor This Week