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Sequent awards $25K to energy institute

Sequent Energy Management, a Houston-based natural gas trading and asset management company, recently awarded a $25,000 gift to the Entergy-Tulane Energy Institute. The gift will be used to support research and programming at the institute.

“As a wholesale marketing and trading organization, the capital we utilize the most in our business is intellectual capital,” said Douglas N. Schantz, president of Sequent. “By supporting the Freeman School and the Entergy-Tulane Energy Institute, Sequent is supporting a valuable resource that will ultimately help us to bring more highly qualified individuals into our organization.”

In addition to the energy institute gift, Sequent also provided two $2,000 scholarships to students interested in pursuing careers in the energy industry and a $2,000 scholarship to the winner of the Sequent Essay Award Contest, in which students were invited to submit their thoughts on the future of the natural gas industry. The gifts were presented at a reception sponsored by Sequent on Jan. 25 in the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life on the Tulane campus.

The gifts are symbolic of a growing partnership between Sequent and the Freeman School. Schantz and other executives with the company have participated in a number of programs sponsored by the institute, and Sequent has hired several Freeman School graduates to participate in the company’s prestigious rotational program, which brings high-potential candidates into the organization for a two-year rotation through various business units before assigning them full-time, dedicated responsibilities.

“I’m very impressed with the university, I’m very impressed with the business school and I’m very impressed with the energy institute,” added Schantz, whose daughter Brittani is a freshman at Tulane. “The great thing about the Freeman School is that it has close ties not only to the energy industry but to natural gas marketing and trading as well. James McFarland has a tremendous background and connectivity with the business, as do Eric Smith, Peggy Babin and Leslie McNew. The relationship between Sequent and the Freeman School is a great opportunity and one we hope to build upon.”

Sequent Energy Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE: ATG), is a Houston-based entity focusing on asset management and optimization, producer services, wholesale marketing and risk management. For more information, visit www.sequentenergy.com.