Hess is engaged in the exploration for and production of crude oil and natural gas, as well as in refining and marketing refined petroleum products, natural gas and electricity.

Plains Marketing is a subsidiary of Plains All American Pipeline, a master limited partnership engaged in interstate and intrastate crude oil transportation. The company also gathers, markets and stores crude oil, as well as markets and stores liquefied petroleum gas and other petroleum products. Plains All American Pipeline has a 50 percent ownership in PAA/Vulcan Gas Storage, which develops and operates a variety of natural gas storage facilities. It is one of the largest independent midstream crude oil companies in North America. The company handles more than 3 million barrels per day of physical crude oil through a network of assets throughout the United States and Canada. Plains Marketing maintains a location in Houston.

Apache Corporation is one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and development businesses with operations in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Australia, the United Kingdom, China and Argentina. For more than 50 years, the company has grown through exploratory drilling and development activities, as well as strategic acquisitions. Apache s portfolio approach was developed to provide diversity in terms of hydrocarbon product, geologic risk and location. The company acquired the Forties Field from British Petroleum in 2003, the largest field ever discovered in the U.K. North Sea. Apache Corporation committed in 2004 to deliver 300 million cubic feet of gas daily through 2030. G. Steven Farris has been the chief executive officer of Apache for more than four years. He has been with the petroleum company for over 18 years. Farris attended Oklahoma State University. The company was established in 1954 and is headquartered in Houston.