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TERMINATION
AGREEMENT
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THIS TERMINATION AGREEMENT (the " Agreement ") is
made this 14th day of January, 2005, (the " Effective
Date ") by and between PROGAS LIMITED , a Canada
corporation (" ProGas "), and NORTHEAST ENERGY
ASSOCIATES, A LIMITED PARTNERSHIP , a Massachusetts limited
partnership (" NEA ") (each a " Party
", and collectively the " Parties ").
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WITNESSETH:
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WHEREAS, ProGas and NEA are parties to a contract pursuant to which
ProGas sells natural gas to NEA for consumption at NEA's 300 MW
natural gas-fired electrical and steam generation facility located
in Bellingham, Massachusetts (the " Facility
");
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WHEREAS, ProGas and NEA are parties to a Gas Purchase Contract,
dated as of May 12, 1988, as amended by an Amending Agreement,
dated as of April 17, 1989, and by a Second Amending Agreement,
dated as of June 23, 1989, and by an Amending Agreement, dated as
of November 1, 1991, and by an Amending Agreement and a Letter
Agreement, both dated as of July 30, 1993, (collectively, the
" NEA Base Contract "), as further amended by an
Amending Agreement dated as of March 1, 2003 (the " Amending
Agreement "), as further amended by a Partial Termination
Agreement dated January 6, 2004, as amended, (the " Partial
Termination Agreement ") (the NEA Base Contract, as amended
by the Amending Agreement and the Partial Termination Agreement,
the " Contract ");
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WHEREAS, the Contract governs the purchase by NEA and sale by
ProGas of 12,507 MMBtus/day of natural gas;
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WHEREAS, pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the
Parties desire to terminate their respective obligations under the
Contract, including, without limiting the foregoing, any obligation
to buy and sell the Daily Contract Quantity (as defined in the
Contract and hereinafter referred to as the " Daily Contract
Quantity ") equal to 12,507 MMBtus/day;
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WHEREAS, the Parties agree that NEA will pay to ProGas or ProGas
will pay to NEA, as appropriate, a Termination Payment (as
hereinafter defined) in consideration for the termination of the
Contract;
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WHEREAS, pursuant to an agreement (the " Firm Service
Agreement ") with TCPL (as hereinafter defined), ProGas has
obtained firm gas transportation service from TCPL for the natural
gas to be supplied to NEA under the Contract, and will incur costs
in connection with such gas transportation arrangements in the
event that the Contract is terminated;
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WHEREAS, pursuant to the ProGas/TransCanada NE Assignment Agreement
dated on or about July 30, 1993, by and between ProGas and TCPL
(the " Assignment Agreement "), ProGas collaterally
assigned to TCPL certain payments due to ProGas from NEA under the
Contract as security for payment of amounts due to TCPL under the
Firm Service Agreement;
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WHEREAS, pursuant to the Northeast Notice and Consent dated as of
July 30, 1993, by and among ProGas, TCPL and NEA, NEA consented to
such collateral assignment and other terms and conditions under the
Assignment Agreement;
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WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 6.3 of the Assignment Agreement,
ProGas may not amend, modify or terminate the Contract without the
prior written consent of TCPL;
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WHEREAS, pursuant to the Bond Indentures (as hereinafter defined),
NEA is prohibited from amending, modifying or terminating the
Contract unless certain requirements described therein have been
satisfied; and
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WHEREAS, the Parties have agreed to a certain calculation
methodology for determining the amount of the Termination Payment,
which will be based on certain prevailing market conditions on the
Termination Payment Calculation Date (as hereinafter
defined).
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NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and
agreements contained herein and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby
acknowledged, the Parties hereby agree as follows
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1. DEFINITIONS; TERM; APPENDICES
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In addition to terms defined in the recitals hereto, the following
terms shall have the meanings set forth below.
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1.1 Defined Terms .
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"
Affected Producers " means the producers who have entered into
long-term gas purchase agreements with ProGas and who are entitled
to cast ballots approving or disapproving the pricing under the
Replacement Resale Arrangement.
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"
Annual After Tax Discount Rate " means the agreed-upon proxy for
ProGas' after tax discount rate, equal to 6.98% and used for the
calculation of the NYMEX Reference Price and NYMEX Final Price
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"
Approvals " has the meaning set forth in Section 13(f).
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" Base Termination Payment " has the meaning set forth in
Section 3.2.
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"
Bond Indentures " means, collectively, the Trust Indenture dated as
of November 15, 1994 among ESI Tractebel Funding Corp. (as
successor to IEC Funding Corp.), as Issuer, NEA, NJEA and State
Street Bank and Trust Company, as Trustee, as amended to date, and
the Indenture dated as of February 19, 1998 by and among ESI
Tractebel Acquisition Corp., as Issuer, Northeast Energy, L.P. and
State Street Bank and Trust, as Trustee and Collateral Agent, as
amended to date, pursuant to which senior notes and subordinated
bonds, respectively, were issued to finance, in part, the Facility,
together with any successor loan and security documents resulting
from a refinancing, defeasance or exchange of such senior notes or
subordinated bonds.
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"
Broker Quotes " means the written Mid-Market price quotations for
monthly NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Prices obtained from OTC Brokers.
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"
Business Day " means Monday through Friday, excluding any day on
which banks in either Calgary, Alberta (Canada) or New York, New
York (U.S.A.) are closed for business.
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"
Calculation Period " means the period from November 1, 2005,
through October 31, 2013.
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"
Calendar Year Swap Spread " has the meaning set forth in
Section 3.4(a)(ii).
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"
Closing Date " has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1(a).
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"
Closing Notice " has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1(a).
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"
Corporate Approvals " has the meaning set forth in Section
2.6(e).
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" Deviation Percentage " has the meaning set forth in
Section 3.4(b).
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"
Effective Date " has the meaning set forth in the Preamble
hereto.
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"
Eligible Broker Quotes " has the meaning set forth in
Section 3.4(a)(ii).
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"
Expiration Date " has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2.
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" Indemnified Person " has the meaning set forth in Section
17(a).
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"
Mid-Market " means the average of the "bid" and "offer" prices for
natural gas. If bid and offer pricing is not simultaneously
available, then for the purposes of this Agreement, the Mid-Market
shall mean the "settlement" price published or quoted by NYMEX on
the day that such pricing was sought, or the price most reasonably
equivalent thereto.
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"
NEA Payment Cap " has the meaning set forth in Section 3.2(a).
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" NEA PPA Restructuring " has the meaning set forth
in Section 2.4(c)
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"
NEA Termination Payment " means the amount to be paid by NEA to
ProGas, to the extent required pursuant to Section 3.2(a), in
consideration for the termination of the Contract on the
Termination Date, the spreadsheet showing the final calculations of
which shall be attached hereto on the Closing Date as Appendix
C .
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"
NYMEX " means the New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.
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"
NYMEX Final Price " means the average of the NYMEX Henry Hub Gas
Prices for each month in the Calculation Period calculated as of
the Termination Payment Calculation Date using the average of (1)
the relevant prices for such date, (2) the relevant prices for the
Business Day immediately preceding such date, and (3) the relevant
prices for the date that is two (2) Business Days prior to such
date. An example of this calculation is shown on Appendix
A.
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"
NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Prices " means the gas futures contract price
for natural gas delivered at Henry Hub in U.S. Dollars per MMBtu,
for each month from November 1, 2005 up to and including the year
2013 as determined in accordance with Section 3.4.
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"
NYMEX Price Differential " means the NYMEX Final Price minus the
NYMEX Reference Price. The NYMEX Price Differential may be a
negative number. An example of this calculation is shown on
Appendix A.
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"
NYMEX Reference Price " means the average of the NYMEX Henry Hub
Gas Prices for each month in the Calculation Period calculated as
of October 7, 2004 and as calculated and shown on Appendix A
as US$ 5.329/MMBtu.
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"
OTC Brokers " means the brokers listed on Appendix D and any
other brokers agreed to in writing by the Parties for the purpose
of providing Broker Quotes; provided , that any broker that
is currently a counterparty to ProGas or NEA or who is in
negotiations with ProGas or NEA to become a counterparty to ProGas
or NEA respectively under any contract or other business
arrangement or who for any other reason may not be a disinterested
party for purposes of providing fair, arms-length, unbiased
quotations under this Agreement shall not be an OTC Broker.
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"
Release " has the meaning set forth in Sections 2.5(f) and
2.6(h)
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"
Termination Date " has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1.
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"
Termination Payment " means either the NEA Termination Payment or
the ProGas Termination Payment.
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"
Termination Payment Calculation Date " has the meaning set forth in
Section 3.1(a).
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" Producer Approval " means a Finding of Producer Support
(as defined in the Alberta Natural Gas Marketing Act) issued by the
Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission pursuant to the Alberta
Natural Gas Marketing Act which evidences the consent of the
Affected Producers to the pricing under the Replacement Resale
Arrangement.
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"
ProGas Termination Payment " means the amount to be paid by ProGas
to NEA, to the extent required pursuant to Section 3.2(b), in
consideration for the termination of the Contract on the
Termination Date, the spreadsheet showing the final calculations of
which shall be attached hereto on the Closing Date as Appendix
C .
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"
ProGas Payment Cap " has the meaning set forth in Section
3.2(b).
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"
Published Values " means for any month the price for natural gas
published by NYMEX in respect of that month on its website
(www.nymex.com/jsp/markets/ng_fut_csf.jsp) in the table titled
"Session Expanded Table" under the column "Most Recent Settle" on
the day in which the value is sought, or if such website, table or
column, as the case may be is discontinued or no longer available,
the correlative information available on such website or on or
through any successor or substantially equivalent information
repository agreed to by the Parties.
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" Replacement Resale Arrangement " means the resale
arrangement or arrangements entered into or to be entered into
by ProGas to resell gas volumes that would otherwise have been
sold or made available to NEA under the Contract.
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"
Required Ballots " has the meaning set forth in
Section 2.3(b).
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"
Swap Spread-Derived Price " has the meaning set forth in
Section 3.4(a)(ii).
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"
Swap Spread-Derived Price Calculation " has the meaning set forth
in Section 3.4(a)(ii).
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"
TCPL " means TransCanada PipeLines Limited, a Canada corporation
and its successors and assigns.
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"
TCPL Consent " means the final and irrevocable consent of TCPL to
the termination of the Contract required under the Assignment
Agreement and obtained by ProGas pursuant to the terms hereof on
terms and conditions reasonably acceptable to each of ProGas and
NEA.
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"
Visible Market " means for any NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price during any
month, the Published Values or the Broker Quotes meeting the
criteria set forth in Section 3.4(a)(ii).
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1.2 Calculational Appendices .
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(a) Appendices A and B to this Agreement set forth specific
numerical values used to calculate various components of the
Termination Payment and sample numerical values used to calculate a
sample Termination Payment, which sample values shall be replaced
with actual values (as of the Termination Payment Calculation Date)
in order to calculate the actual Termination Payment, which shall
be set forth on Appendix C. The Parties acknowledge and agree that
the mathematical operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division) performed on the numerical values contained or to be
contained in Appendices A through C in order to calculate the
Termination Payment are embedded as functions in a Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet, a copy of which has been provided to each Party's
legal counsel.
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(b) It is the intent of the Parties that the provisions of Articles
1 through 18 of this Agreement shall be construed consistently with
Appendices A through C and sample calculations contained therein,
and that together such provisions and appendices shall embody the
agreement of the Parties with respect to the calculation of the
Termination Payment.
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2. TERMINATION; TERMINATION DATE; CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT.
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2.1 Termination of the Contract . Subject to the
terms and conditions set forth below and provided that the Closing
Date occurs on or prior to the Expiration Date the Parties agree
that the Contract shall be terminated effective as of 9:59 a.m.
(Eastern time) on November 1, 2005 (the " Termination
Date "), and each Party agrees to deliver to the other a
certificate acknowledging that the Release is effective as of the
Termination Date. The delivery of such certificates shall not be a
condition to the termination of the Contract or to the obligation
of the Parties to make the Termination Payment pursuant to Section
3.1(a), herein.
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2.2 Termination of Agreement . This Agreement shall
be effective as of the Effective Date. If the Closing Date does not
occur on or prior to March 31, 2005 (or such later date as extended
pursuant to Section 3.1(a) or by mutual written agreement of the
Parties) (the " Expiration Date "), this Agreement shall
terminate effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on the first Business
Day following the Expiration Date, unless this Agreement is
terminated earlier pursuant to Section 2.3(c), 3.2(a) or Section
3.2(b). In the event of any such termination of this Agreement, the
Contract shall continue unamended and unaffected by virtue of this
Agreement; provided, however, such termination shall not release
either Party from any claims by the other Party that it did not use
commercially reasonable efforts in connection with its obligations
under Sections 2.3 or 2.4 as applicable.
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2.3 ProGas Covenants Pending Closing .
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(a) Beginning on the Effective Date, ProGas shall use commercially
reasonable efforts to obtain at its sole cost and expense, as
promptly as practicable:
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(i) the TCPL Consent, and
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(ii) the Producer Approval.
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(b) ProGas shall promptly and with due diligence following the
Effective Date solicit in writing the consent of the Affected
Producers to the pricing under the Replacement Resale Arrangement,
and shall, provided it receives the requisite number of ballots
with the requisite level of support, from such Affected Producers
(the " Required Ballots "), petition the Alberta
Petroleum Marketing Commission to issue, on an expedited basis, a
Finding of Producer Support (as defined in the Alberta Natural Gas
Marketing Act). ProGas shall provide NEA with periodic status
reports as to its undertaking with respect to the TCPL Consent, the
Required Ballots and the Producer Approval, and shall provide NEA
with written notice within three (3) Business Days of receipt of
each of the TCPL Consent and the Producer Approval; provided,
however if ProGas notifies NEA in writing that ProGas has solicited
the Affected Producers in writing but has determined that it has
not received the Required Ballots and that Producer Approval cannot
be obtained, then ProGas shall be released from its obligations
under this Section 2.3(b) and shall have no liability for failure
to obtain the Producer Approval. For the purposes of this
Agreement, "Producer Approval" shall include a Finding of Producer
Support.
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(c) If ProGas has not obtained the Producer Approval by the later
of (i) January 31, 2005, or (ii) the Business Day following the
date on which NEA provides ProGas notice that the conditions
precedent to the PPA Restructuring have been met, ProGas shall so
notify NEA in writing of such fact, together with its best estimate
of whether, and if applicable the date by which, it expects the
Producer Approval to be obtained, and NEA shall have the right to
terminate this Agreement within ten (10) days of such written
notice by delivering a notice of termination of this Agreement to
ProGas; provided, however, if ProGas has obtained the Required
Ballots by January 31, 2005, and such Required Ballots are
sufficient in ProGas' reasonable judgment to require the Alberta
Petroleum Marketing Commission to issue a Finding of Producer
Support, then ProGas shall have the right, but not the obligation,
to irrevocably waive the condition precedent set forth in
Section 2.5(d) by delivering to NEA written notice of such
waiver, in which case NEA shall not have the right to terminate the
Agreement pursuant to this Section 2.3(c). For the avoidance of
doubt, if ProGas waives the condition precedent set forth in
Section 2.5(d) in accordance with this section, and subsequent
thereto, the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission fails to issue,
refuses to issue or rescinds the issuance of a Finding of Producer
Support, ProGas shall not be relieved from its obligation to
consummate the transactions contemplated herein and shall bear all
risk and costs associated therewi
th.
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(d) If NEA terminates this Agreement by delivery of a termination
notice in accordance with Section 2.3(c), this Agreement shall
terminate as of the date of such notice and be of no further force
and effect. In the event of such termination, the Contract shall
continue in full force and effect, unamended and unaffected by
virtue of this Agreement; provided, however, such termination shall
not release either Party from any claims by the other Party that it
did not use commercially reasonable efforts in connection with its
obligations under Sections 2.3 or 2.4 as applicable.
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(e) ProGas covenants and agrees that once any of the TCPL Consent,
the Required Ballots or the Producer Approval is obtained, ProGas
shall not take or consent to the taking of any action to rescind,
cancel or abrogate the effectiveness or finality of the TCPL
Consent, the Required Ballots or the Producer Approval.
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2.4 NEA Covenants Pending Closing .
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(a) Beginning on the Effective Date, NEA shall use commercially
reasonable efforts and due diligence to obtain, at NEA's sole cost
and expense, as promptly as practicable, (a) the Corporate
Approvals and (b) the NEA PPA Restructuring. NEA shall provide
ProGas with periodic status reports as to NEA's undertaking with
respect thereto.
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(b) NEA covenants and agrees that once the NEA PPA Restructuring
and the Corporate Approvals have been obtained in accordance with
Section 2.4(a), NEA shall not take any action to rescind,
cancel or abrogate the effectiveness or finality of the Corporate
Approvals; provided, however, it is understood and agreed that the
finality of the NEA PPA Restructuring shall be contingent upon
receipt of the Corporate Approvals.
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(c) Beginning on the Effective Date, NEA shall use commercially
reasonable efforts and due diligence to consummate, at NEA's sole
cost and expense, as promptly as practicable, the term
restructuring of the four (4) power purchase agreements between NEA
and certain utility subsidiaries of NSTAR Electric & Gas
Corporation (" NSTAR ") (the " NEA PPA
Restructuring ") on terms and conditions acceptable to NEA;
provided however , if NEA notifies ProGas in writing that
NEA has determined that the NEA PPA Restructuring cannot be
consummated consistent with such acceptable terms and conditions,
then NEA shall be released from any and all obligations under this
Section 2.4(c) and shall have no liability hereunder to ProGas
for failure to pursue a NEA PPA Restructuring.
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2.5 Conditions Precedent to Obligations of ProGas .
ProGas' obligation to effect the transactions set forth herein is
subject to the satisfaction at or before the Closing Date of the
following conditions (any of which ProGas may waive):
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(a) Representations and Warranties . All of the
representations and warranties of NEA in Section 14 shall be true
and correct in all respects as though made on and as of the Closing
Date (unless the incorrectness of such representations and
warranties does not have a material adverse effect on the rights of
ProGas), and NEA shall have delivered a certificate, duly executed
by an authorized officer, with respect to such representations and
warranties. NEA shall have performed, or caused to be performed,
all of the agreements and covenants to be performed by it under
this Agreement as of the Closing Date, unless the non-performance
of such agreements and covenants does not have a material adverse
effect on the rights of ProGas hereunder.
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(b) No Legal Restraint . Neither Party shall be subject to
any order, decree, injunction, or other legal restraint or
prohibition of a court or agency of competent jurisdiction which
enjoins, prohibits or materially interferes with the consummation
of the closing on the Closing Date or the Reduction
Amendment.
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(c) TCPL Consent . The TCPL Consent shall have been obtained
and remain in full force and effect.
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(d) Producer Approval . ProGas shall have obtained the
Producer Approval.
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(e) Release . NEA shall have executed and delivered to
ProGas a written release and waiver substantially in the form
attached as Appendix E (the " Release ").
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2.6 Conditions Precedent to Obligations of NEA .
NEA's obligation to effect the transactions set forth herein is
subject to the satisfaction at or before the Closing Date of the
following conditions (any of which NEA may waive):
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(a) Representations and Warranties . All of the
representations and warranties of ProGas in Section 13 shall be
true and correct in all respects as though made on and as of the
Closing Date (unless the incorrectness of such representations and
warranties does not have a material adverse effect on the rights of
NEA), and ProGas shall have delivered a certificate, duly executed
by an authorized officer, with respect to such representations and
warranties. ProGas shall have performed, or caused to be performed,
all of the agreements and covenants to be performed by it under
this Agreement as of the Closing Date, unless the non-performance
of such agreements and covenants does not have a material adverse
effect on the rights of NEA hereunder.
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(b) No Legal Restraint . Neither Party shall be subject to
any order, decree, injunction, or other legal restraint or
prohibition of a court or agency of competent jurisdiction which
enjoins, prohibits or materially interferes with the consummation
of the closing on the Closing Date or the Reduction
Amendment.
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(c) TCPL Consent . The TCPL Consent shall have been obtained
and remain in full force and effect.
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(d) NEA PPA Restructuring . The closing for the NEA PPA
Restructuring and the transactions contemplated therein shall have
occurred.
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(e) NEA Corporate Approvals . All partnership and corporate
approvals of (i) NEA and its general partner and limited
partners, (ii) FPL Group, Inc., FPL Energy LLC and/or FPL
Group Capital Inc. (as the case may be) and (iii) Tractebel
Power Inc., Tractebel North America Inc.,
Tractebel Electricity and Gas International S.A., and
Suez-Tractebel S.A. (as the case may be) that are required for the
consummation of the transactions contemplated herein or hereby,
including without limitation, the termination of the Contract, the
payment of the NEA Termination Payment and the consummation of an
Indenture Compliance Arrangement, shall have been obtained
(collectively, the " Corporate Approvals
").
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(f) Producer Approval . The Producer Approval shall have
been obtained (except to the extent waived by ProGas pursuant to
Section 2.3(c)).
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(g) Release. ProGas shall have executed and delivered to NEA
a written release and waiver substantially in the form attached as
Appendix E (the " Release ").
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3. CALCULATION OF TERMINATION PAYMENT; TERMINATION PAYMENT
DATE.
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3.1 Closing Date and Termination Payment Calculation Date
.
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(a) Within one (1) Business Day of the last of the following events
to occur or be waived by the Party entitled to the benefit of such
condition precedent: (i) NEA's determining, in its sole discretion,
that the conditions precedent to the PPA Restructuring have been
met, (ii) NEA's obtaining the Corporate Approvals, (iii) receipt by
ProGas of the Producer Approval, and (iv) receipt of an executed
copy of the TCPL Consent, NEA shall deliver to ProGas a written
notice (the " Closing Notice ") in accordance with
Section 5 stating that the foregoing conditions precedent
(those listed in clauses (i) through (v)) have been satisfied (or
been waived by the Party entitled to the benefit of such condition
precedent). The calculation of the NYMEX Final Price and the
calculation of the Termination Payment by ProGas in accordance with
Section 3.2 shall occur on the Business Day after NEA delivers the
Closing Notice (the " Termination Payment Calculation
Date "). The date upon which: (i) the conditions precedent
set forth in Sections 2.5 and 2.6 have been satisfied, and, (ii) a
final Termination Payment has been determined in accordance with
Sections 3.2 and 3.4 and has been agreed to by ProGas and NEA or as
otherwise determined in accordance with Section 3.2(a) or (b),
shall be the closing date (or as otherwise mutually agreed to by
the Parties) (the " Closing Date "). On the Termination
Date, the Termination Payment shall be paid in accordance with
Section 3.5 and the Parties shall execute and deliver the Release
certificate as contemplated in Section 2.1.
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(b) The Parties acknowledge and agree that the Closing Date will
occur prior to the Termination Date and that nothing in this
Agreement shall modify, relieve or excuse ProGas' or NEA's
respective obligations to deliver, receive and pay for, the full
Daily Contract Quantity of 12,507 MMBtus/day under the Contract
through 9:59 a.m. (Eastern time) on the day following the
Termination Date.
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3.2 Calculation of Termination Payment . The "
Base Termination Payment " shall be equal to (1) negative
nine million five hundred thousand U.S. dollars (-US$9,500,000)
plus (2) the product of negative twenty-eight million two hundred
thousand U.S. dollars (-US$28,200,000) times the NYMEX Price
Differential. An example of this calculation is shown on
Appendix B .
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(a) NEA shall have no obligation to make an NEA Termination Payment
to ProGas and, as such, the NEA Payment Cap is zero U.S. dollars
(US$0) (the " NEA Payment Cap "); provided, however,
if the Base Termination Payment is a positive number, then NEA may
elect to pay to ProGas the NEA Termination Payment, which shall be
an amount equal to the Base Termination Payment. If the Base
Termination Payment exceeds the NEA Payment Cap, then:
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(1) ProGas shall notify NEA, concurrently with providing
documentation of its calculation of the amounts in Section 3.2(a)
above, as to whether ProGas elects to accept payment of the NEA
Termination Payment in the amount of the NEA Payment Cap,
or
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(2) If ProGas' notice provided for in Section 3.2(a)(1) states that
ProGas declines to accept the election described in Section
3.2(a)(1), then within one (1) Business Day of receipt of such
notice, NEA shall notify ProGas as to whether NEA agrees to waive
the NEA Payment Cap and pay to ProGas the NEA Termination Payment
in the amount of the Base Termination Payment.
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If ProGas declines to accept its election under Section 3.2(a)(1)
and NEA declines to exercise its election under Section 3.2(a)(2),
then the Parties shall enter good-faith negotiations, for a period
not to exceed two (2) Business Days from the date NEA declines to
exercise its waiver provided for in Section 3.2(a)2, during which
time the Parties shall seek to arrive at a mutually acceptable NEA
Termination Payment. Notwithstanding the Parties' agreement to
negotiate in good faith, NEA shall not be obligated to make any NEA
Termination Payment exceeding the NEA Payment Cap unless NEA agrees
to make such a payment in its sole discretion. If the Parties' good
faith negotiations do not result in a mutually acceptable NEA
Termination Payment within two (2) Business Days, then this
Agreement shall terminate unless the parties mutually agree to
extend the period for good faith negotiations.
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(b) If the Base Termination Payment is a negative number, then
ProGas shall pay to NEA the ProGas Termination Payment, which shall
be an amount equal to the Base Termination Payment multiplied by
negative one (-1), but in no event in excess of twenty-five million
U.S. Dollars (US$25,000,000)] (the " ProGas Payment
Cap "); provided, however, if the Base Termination Payment
exceeds the ProGas Payment Cap, then:
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(1) ProGas shall notify NEA, concurrently with providing
documentation of its calculation of the amounts in Section 3.2(b)
above, of whether ProGas agrees to waive the ProGas Payment Cap and
pay to NEA the ProGas Termination Payment in the amount of the Base
Termination Payment, or
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(2) If ProGas' notice provided for in Section 3.2(b)(1) states that
ProGas declines to accept the election described in Section
3.2(b)(1), then within one (1) Business Day of receipt of such
notice, NEA shall notify ProGas as to whether NEA elects to accept
payment of the ProGas Termination Payment in the amount of the
ProGas Payment Cap.
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If ProGas declines to exercise its election under Section 3.2(b)(1)
and NEA declines to accept its election under Section 3.2(b)(2),
the Parties shall enter good-faith negotiations, for a period not
to exceed two (2) Business Days from the date ProGas declines to
exercise its waiver provided for in Section 3.2(b)2, during which
time the Parties shall seek to arrive at a mutually acceptable
ProGas Termination Payment. Notwithstanding the Parties' agreement
to negotiate in good faith, ProGas shall not be obligated to make
any ProGas Termination Payment exceeding the ProGas Payment Cap
unless ProGas agrees to make such a payment in its sole discretion.
If the Parties' good faith negotiations do not result in a mutually
acceptable ProGas Termination Payment, within two (2) Business
Days, then this Agreement shall terminate unless the parties
mutually agree to extend period for good faith
negotiations.
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(c) If the Base Termination Payment is equal to zero, neither Party
shall be obligated to make payment of a Termination Payment, and
the Parties shall consummate the Closing as provided hereunder
(subject to satisfaction of any remaining conditions
precedent).
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3.3 [RESERVED]
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3.4 Determination of NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Prices . The
monthly NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Prices used to calculate the NYMEX
Reference Price have been determined and are set forth in
Appendix A . The NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Prices used to determine the
NYMEX Final Price shall be calculated as of the Termination Payment
Calculation Date and shall be determined consistent with the
methodology used to determine the NYMEX Reference Price as shown on
Appendix A and as described below:
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(a) Use of Visible Market .
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(1) For each month in the Calculation Period for which Published
Values exist, the NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price shall be the Published
Values for that month;
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(2) For each month in the Calculation Period for which Published
Values are not available, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith
to agree upon stipulated values for the NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price
for such month. If the Parties cannot so agree within two (2)
hours, then ProGas shall obtain, as promptly as commercially
practicable and to the extent reasonably available, at least two
(2) Broker Quotes for each NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price for those
months during the Calculation Period for which Published Values are
not available and shall provide to NEA copies of all data, quotes
and other information provided by the OTC Brokers in connection
with such Broker Quotes. If Broker Quotes do not specify monthly
prices for any given month during the Calculation Period, but do
include Calendar Year Swap Spreads, then beginning with the first
month for which no Published Value is available, the NYMEX Henry
Hub Gas Price for such month shall be calculated as the sum of
(i) the NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price for the same month during
the previous year plus (ii) the Calendar Year Swap Spread
(such amount, the " Swap Spread-Derived Price " and such
calculation, the " Swap Spread-Derived Price Calculation ").
"Calendar Year Swap Spread" means the value quoted by an OTC Broker
as a differential to the price of the Henry Hub natural gas futures
contract for a given month and year. This calculation shall be
repeated for any "stub" year (i.e., any year for which fewer than
12 months of monthly prices are available) until such year has a
stipulated NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price for each month during such
year. The Swap Spread-Derived Price Calculation shall continue to
be used, to the extent available, for subsequent monthly prices by
adding the correlative year's Calendar Year Swap Spread for any
given month to price for the same month during the prior year. For
example, if the last month for which a Published Value is available
is May 2009, then the June 2009 NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price shall
equal the June 2008 value plus the Calendar Year Swap Spread for
June 2009. If Calendar Year Swap Spreads are not available for a
given year and if any later Broker Quote provides the NYMEX Henry
Hub Gas Price on a calendar year basis, then the monthly NYMEX
Henry Hub Gas Price during each month of such calendar year for the
annual Broker Quote shall be deemed to be the calendar year NYMEX
Henry Hub Gas Price contained in the Broker Quote. All Broker
Quotes obtained pursuant to this section shall be averaged, and
Broker Quotes for any given NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price (or Swap
Spread-Derived Price) that are no greater than 105%, and no less
than 95%, of the average of the Broker Quotes obtained for such
NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price (or Swap Spread-Derived Price) shall be "
Eligible Broker Quotes " and all other Broker Quotes shall
be disregarded for the purposes of this section. The arithmetic
average of the Eligible Broker Quotes obtained for each NYMEX Henry
Hub Gas Price for each month (or year or Swap Spread-Derived Price)
shall be the NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Price for such month (or year or
Swap Spread-Derived Price) for purposes of calculating the NYMEX
Final Price.
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(b) Absence of a Visible Market for Certain NYMEX Henry Hub Gas
Prices . If neither Published Values nor Eligible Broker Quotes
are available to determin
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