MarkWest Energy Partners LP, Denver, will add 720 MMcfd of natural gas processing capacity and 110,000 b/d of NGL fractionation capacity in seven projects spread among West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and East Texas.
In this year's second quarter, the company placed into service two gas processing plants with 320 MMcfd of capacity in the Marcellus shale, a 200-MMcfd plant in the Utica, a 20,000-b/d ethane and heavier fractionation in the Marcellus, and a 40,000-b/d of de-ethanization capacity in the Utica.
In all, 19 processing and fractionation projects are under construction, the company said.
Marcellus
The company will build a seventh 200-MMcfd processing plant at its Sherwood complex in Doddridge County, W.Va., to handle production from Antero Resources Corp. The plant will expand total capacity at Sherwood to 1.4 bcfd by third-quarter 2015.
Later this month, MarkWest will start up the Sherwood IV plant, also supported by Antero Resources production.
And, MarkWest will build a sixth processing complex in the Marcellus—to be called the Hillman complex—in Washington County, Pa., based on rich-gas production by Range Resources. The complex will initially consist of Hillman I, a 200-MMcfd processing plant with associated de-ethanization. It is to start up during first-quarter 2016.
Propane and heavier NGLs recovered at Hillman will move by a pipeline to the nearby Houston, Pa., complex for fractionation.
The plans follow announcements earlier this year regarding capacity additions at the Mobley complex in Wetzel County and the Majorsville plant in Marshall County, W.Va. (OGJ Online, May 7, 2014; OGJ, June 2, 2014, p. 72) and the Bluestone II plant in Butler County, Pa. (OGJ, June 2, 2014, p. 72).
Utica
In nearby Harrison County, Ohio, MarkWest Utica EMG will develop Cadiz III, a 200-MMcfd processing plant expected to begin operations in first-quarter 2015. It will increase total processing capacity at Cadiz to 525 MMcfd.
The complex currently consists of a 125-MMcfd cryogenic processing plant. During September, MarkWest Utica EMG will start up the 200-MMcfd Cadiz II plant to handle rich-gas production from Gulfport Energy and other producers (OGJ Online, June 5, 2014).
MarkWest Utica EMG in July completed the 200-MMcfd Seneca III processing plant in Noble County, Ohio. The plant processes production from Antero Resources under a long-term, fee-based contract and has expanded total processing capacity of the Seneca complex to 600 MMcfd.
Responding to "continued growth of Antero Resources and other producers," MarkWest Utica EMG expects to complete the Seneca IV 200-MMcfd plant in second-quarter 2015.
MarkWest Utica EMG completed in July a 40,000-b/d de-ethanization plant at Cadiz to provide producers with the "ability to meet residue-gas quality specifications and downstream ethane pipeline commitments."
Purity ethane produced at the new Cadiz facility will be delivered into the ATEX pipeline, said the company (OGJ Online, Dec. 6, 2013).
Haynesville, Cotton Valley
Finally, in East Texas, MarkWest will build a fourth processing plant at its complex in Carthage, Panola County, to handle rich-gas production from the Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley formation.
The plant will have initial capacity of 120 MMcfd to begin operations in first-quarter 2015. Once completed, total processing capacity at the East Texas site will increase to 520 MMcfd.
In April, MarkWest's Centrahoma joint venture started up its 120-MMcfd Stonewall processing plant in the Woodford shale in southwest Oklahoma. Completion of the Stonewall plant increases Centrahoma's total processing capacity to 220 MMcfd (OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2012).