Atlas Pipeline Partners completes Velma expansion programme in the US

Atlas Pipeline Partners (APL) has opened a new 60 million cubic feet per day cryogenic facility at Velma in Oklahoma, US, following an expansion programme.

The expansion of the Velma plant increases the total processing capacity to 160 million cubic feet per day and supports the partnership’s long-term agreement with XTO Energy, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, to deliver natural gas gathering and processing services for 60 million cubic feet per day from the Woodford Shale in Ardmore Basin.

APL said that the Velma system is currently operating at 50% capacity due to increased activity in the rich gas areas where it is located, and could reach 75% in the future with additional compression work expected next week.

APL has also revealed that the WestOK system expansion work in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas is on schedule and is slated to be online next month.

The WestOK system is currently handling 340 million cubic feet of gas per day and will see a total processing capacity of 458 million cubic feet per day after the expansion is completed.

The partnership has also completed the purchase of gathering systems in Barber and Harper counties in Kansas that entail 60 miles of gathering pipelines which are already connected to the WestOk system.

Further, Atlas Pipeline has agreed to purchase the Mansfield gathering system in Barnett Shale play in Tarrant County, Texas.

The system includes 19 miles of gathering pipeline that supports the newly acquired production for APL’s unit, Atlas Resources Partners, handling about 26 million cubic feet per day of production.