Meritage Midstream Services II, LLC has announced that operations on the first 108 mile leg of the Thunder Creek NGL Pipeline will begin in January 2015. The FERC-regulated pipeline will be owned and operated by Thunder Creek NGL Pipeline, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meritage. The 108 mile pipeline serves producers in Wyoming鈥檚 prolific Powder River Basin and consists of 22 miles of newly constructed pipeline and an additional 86 miles secured through a long-term lease from Phillips 66. The pipeline has an initial capacity to transport 15 000 bpd. Meritage expects to expand the pipeline鈥檚 capacity to 30 000 bpd as shipper demand increases.
The pipeline originates at the 50 Buttes Natural Gas Processing Complex near Gillette, Wyoming, and terminates at an interconnect with Phillips 66鈥檚 Powder River Pipeline near Douglas, Wyoming. The Phillips 66 Powder River Pipeline delivers natural gas liquids to Phillips 66鈥檚 fractionation and refining complex near Borger, Texas. The 50 Buttes Plant is owned by Thunder Creek Gas Services, L.L.C., also a wholly owned subsidiary of Meritage.
Meritage also announced that it will begin construction of a 140 mile extension of the NGL pipeline in early 2015. The 140 mile extension will include an interconnect near Cheyenne, Wyoming, into the Overland Pass Pipeline Company鈥檚 760 mile pipeline that provides NGL deliveries to the Mid-Continent market centre in Conway, Kansas. This extension is expected to come into service during the 1Q16.
鈥淲e are very pleased that our new NGL pipeline will provide producers in the Powder River Basin with rapid access to market and improved netbacks,鈥� said Meritage Midstream Chief Executive Officer Steve Huckaby. 鈥淥ur focus is always on what鈥檚 best for our customers and this initial pipeline is a great intermediate solution while we continue to build out the system to offer connectivity to additional markets, including market centres at Conway, Kansas, and potentially Mont Belvieu, Texas.鈥�
Adapted from press release by