EQT Corp., Pittsburgh, will separate its upstream and midstream businesses, all in the Appalachian basin.
The upstream company will retain the EQT name, with Steve Schlotterbeck remaining as chief executive officer.
The midstream company will be named NewCo. Jerry Ashcroft, now EQT vice-president and president, midstream, and senior vice-president and chief operating officer of EQT Midstream Partners (EQM), will be NewCo’s CEO.
The companies will remain in Pittsburgh.
Before the separation, EQT will transfer its retained midstream interests to EQM, which will be merged with Rice Midstream Partners, to form NewCo.
EQM owns about 950 miles of interstate pipeline, 1,800 miles of high and low-pressure gathering lines, and storage in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. Rice Midstream operates gathering, compression, and water assets of the former Rice Energy Inc., which EQT acquired last year (OGJ Online, Nov. 14, 2017).
EQT expects total production this year of 1.52-1.56 tcf of natural gas-equivalent hydrocarbons. It holds 680,000 core net acres in the Marcellus shale play and 65,000 core net acres in the Utica play.
Before the separation, incentive distribution rights of Rice Midstream will be sold to EQT GP Holdings, which holds the general partner interest, all the incentive distribution rights, and part of the limited partner interests in EQM. EQT owns the general partner interest and a 90% limited partner interest in EQT GP Holdings.
After the separation, EQM and EQT GP Holdings will remain separate, publicly traded entities.