DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:MWE) today announced the construction of a third plant at its Arapaho processing complex in Western Oklahoma to serve increasing volumes of liquids-rich natural gas production from Granite Wash producers, including Newfield Exploration and LINN Energy.
Since expanding its operations in late 2008 to serve producers in the Texas panhandle, MarkWest’s throughput volumes from the Granite Wash have increased to nearly 120 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) and are forecasted to continue increasing in 2011 and beyond. In addition, MarkWest’s producer customers are focusing their drilling plans on the liquids-rich zones in the Granite Wash, which has significantly increased the percentage of rich-gas volumes that MarkWest is gathering and processing. To support this growth, MarkWest will invest additional capital to expand its rich-gas gathering and compression facilities as well as its Arapaho processing complex. Upon completion of the facility expansions in the third quarter of 2011, the processing capacity at the Arapaho complex will increase by 60 MMcf/d to a total of 220 MMcf/d. The gathering and processing expansions are supported by long-term agreements with producer customers.
“The Granite Wash is one of the fastest growing resource plays in the United States and we are excited to further expand the midstream infrastructure serving our producer customers,” said Frank Semple, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MarkWest. “MarkWest has been a premier midstream service provider in Western Oklahoma for nearly a decade and is ideally positioned to continue supporting the increasing production from the Granite Wash.”
MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. is a master limited partnership engaged in the gathering, transportation, and processing of natural gas; the transportation, fractionation, marketing, and storage of natural gas liquids; and the gathering and transportation of crude oil. MarkWest has extensive natural gas gathering, processing, and transmission operations in the southwest, Gulf Coast, and northeast regions of the United States, including the Marcellus Shale, and is the largest natural gas processor and fractionator in the Appalachian region.
This press release includes “forward-looking statements.” All statements other than statements of historical facts included or incorporated herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary significantly from those expressed or implied in such statements and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that affect our operations, financial performance, and other factors as discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the factors that could cause results to differ materially are those risks discussed in the periodic reports we file with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. You are urged to carefully review and consider the cautionary statements and other disclosures made in those filings, specifically those under the heading “Risk Factors.” We do not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statement except as required by law.