Announced Actions for December 31, 1996

The Federal Trade Commission today announced the following action.

Commission action regarding applications for approval: Following a public comment period, the Commission has ruled on an application for approval of a transaction from the following:

• The FTC has approved the application of NGC Corporation, of Houston, Texas, to divest its 80 percent interest in the Mont Belvieu I natural gas liquids fractionation facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas, to Koch Hydrocarbon Company, a division of Koch Industries, Inc. based in Wichita, Kansas. Divestiture of NGC’s interest in the plant was required under a December 1996 consent order settling charges that NGC’s acquisition of certain natural gas transportation and processing assets from Chevron Corporation would substantially reduce competition in violation of antitrust laws, because it would leave only two companies operating four fractionation plants in Mont Belvieu, the nation’s hub for natural gas liquids fractionation services. (See Aug. 28, 1996 news relesae for more details regarding the consent order; FTC Docket No. C-3697; Commission vote to approve the divestiture was 5-0.) Staff contact is George S. Cary, 202-326-3741.

Copies of documents associated with this case are available on the FTC’s web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Public Reference Branch, Room 130, at 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710. FTC news releases and other materials also are available on the Internet at the FTC’s World Wide Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov