Oneok Partners LP reported it will invest $440 million in the natural gas liquids-rich area of Wyoming’s Powder River basin. The natural gas distributor intends to purchase a 50-MMcfd natural gas processing facility in western Converse and Campbell counties for $305 million from Merit Energy and invest $135 million to upgrade and construct gas gathering and processing related infrastructure, NGL gathering pipelines, and well connections.
The partnership expects to close the transaction during this year’s third quarter and complete the related infrastructure projects in second-half 2014.
As part of the acquisition, Oneok Partners will receive long-term acreage dedications and fee-based and percent-of-proceeds agreements with producers.
In addition to the Bakken NGL pipeline, Oneok Partners currently operates 1,000 miles of gas gathering pipelines in the Powder River and Wind River basins.