Prudential Capital Group has created the Dallas-based Energy Finance Group to provide expanded financing capabilities to the energy sectors of oil and gas, utility and power. The group has a 2012 investment appetite of more than $2 billion of senior debt, mezzanine and equity financing available to invest in energy and power companies, utilities and energy projects. Prudential Capital Group is an investment business of Prudential Financial Inc.

Randall Kob, managing director, will lead the unit, overseeing a $12 billion energy and power portfolio. The business is dedicated to financing oil and gas exploration and production; gathering, processing and transmission; renewable and conventional power generation and transmission; electric and natural gas utilities; and select oilfield services. Ric Abel, managing director, will continue to lead the power investment unit, formerly known as Electric Finance Group; and Brian Thomas, managing director, will lead the oil and gas investment unit, both reporting to Kob. All three seasoned finance professionals have each managed relationships and portfolios of energy and power investments for more than 20 years.

“Prudential Capital has been active in power and oil and gas finance since the 1960s, and this dedicated expansion responds to the needs of the marketplace for deep cross-sector experience and capital that covers the entire risk spectrum within one investment group,” Kob said. “The landscape of investment opportunities across the broader energy sectors has changed considerably over the past several years. There is an increase in risk investment opportunities in the power, and oil and gas sectors, as well as indications that the broader energy industry would benefit from greater diversity of capital providers. The Energy Finance Group has the appetite and capability to provide capital from investment grade debt to mezzanine debt and equity capital by dedicated energy investment professionals within one group.”

The teams serving the power sector within the Energy Finance Group currently manage a $5.4 billion portfolio and have been led by Abel since 2004. The teams serving the oil and gas sector within the Energy Finance Group, now led by Thomas, manage a global portfolio of $5.9 billion.

The dedicated expansion of the Energy Finance Group follows the February 2012 Prudential Capital Group announcement summarizing expanded resources serving U.S. and international corporate finance, as well as dedicated industry groups such as the Energy Finance Group. The changes for Prudential Capital Group come after a record 2011 in which the company achieved $10 billion in originations, doubling its annual originations over the past ten years.