KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On
October 20th, the Ultra Petroleum Corp (“Ultra”) bankruptcy court
approved a joint request from CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust, Inc.
(“CorEnergy”) and Ultra Wyoming LGS, LLC (“Ultra LGS”) to postpone the hearing,
scheduled for October 20th, on the CorEnergy motion to dismiss Ultra
LGS from the Ultra Petroleum bankruptcy process.
Postponement was requested because CorEnergy and Ultra LGS
have agreed to mediation, to begin as soon as reasonably practicable. December
15th has been agreed to as the new deadline for Ultra LGS to accept
or reject the Pinedale LGS Lease in order to accommodate scheduling.
The agreement to mediate followed the CorEnergy deposition of a member of
Ultra’s senior management taken October 19th. During the deposition,
that senior officer acknowledged that: (i) the earliest date the Shell System
could replace the CorEnergy pipeline is late fall 2017; and (ii) the cost
estimate Ultra referred to in its recent court filing did not include hundreds
of millions of dollars in lost revenue during the approval and construction
period, or the payment of any damages to CorEnergy which may result from
Ultra’s actions.
“We believe that uninterrupted access to the CorEnergy pipeline is the basis
for Ultra’s published financial forecasts,” said CorEnergy CEO David Schulte.
“Our team has consistently communicated our willingness to consider amendments
to our lease that are in the best interest of both organizations. We welcome
the prospect of entering a mediation process aimed at improving our business
relationship. The mediation is nonbinding, so we are able to return promptly to
the bankruptcy court with either our motion to dismiss or a motion to approve a
consensual amendment to the lease.”