Market Vectors ETFs announced today the launch of Market Vectors
Unconventional Oil & Gas ETF (NYSE Arca: FRAK), the first
U.S.-listed exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to provide investors
with pure play exposure to this fast-growing segment of the energy
sector, which can include efforts in coal bed methane, coal seam gas,
shale oil, shale gas, tight natural gas, tight oil and tight sands.
FRAK comes to the market as rising global consumption and the quest for
energy independence is driving many nations to seek additional supply
sources for oil and natural gas. Unconventional technologies—which
include hydraulic fracturing, lateral or deep sea drilling, high
pressure gas injection, and advanced 3D imaging—may have potential to
transform the global energy landscape by dramatically increasing supply
and altering import needs. During the past several years, new extraction
techniques applied to traditional resources have led to significant,
"game changing" increases in North America's natural gas supply
capacity. More recently, these same techniques have been utilized by oil
companies striving to produce similar results. Companies located outside
North America, in countries such as China, Australia and Argentina, have
also begun exploring the potential of unconventional energy.
Technological advancements and cost efficiencies have attracted interest
from major global energy companies that are eager to participate, as
evidenced by rapidly increasing M&A activity.
"We're pleased to add FRAK to our family of hard assets ETFs," said
Allison Lovett, Vice President of Marketing at Van Eck Global. "As
momentum continues to build in this innovative sub-sector of the energy
world, companies in this space are poised to lead the way in the
discovery and extraction of energy from new and existing sources."
FRAK seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and
expenses, the price and yield performance of Market Vectors
Unconventional Oil & Gas Index (ticker: MVFRAKTR), a rules-based index
intended to track the overall performance of companies involved in the
exploration, development, extraction, production, and/or refining of
unconventional oil and natural gas. The index includes companies that
derive the majority of their revenues from unconventional oil and gas
(or have properties with the potential to do so), have a market cap in
excess of $150 million, a three-month average daily trading volume of at
least $1 million, and minimum trading volume of 250,000 shares each
month over the preceding six months.