Align Midstream acquires gas processing plant and trunk line in US from Azure

Align Midstream Partners has completed the acquisition of a natural gas processing facility and 51 mile trunk line system in East Texas, US, from Azure Midstream Partners for $44.9m.

The 100 million standard cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) Panola I plant is a cryogenic gas processing plant located in Panola County, Texas, and has access to five residue gas pipelines and the Enterprise Panola NGL Pipeline.

The Murvaul trunk line system connects Align's existing system to Panola I and also provides a 12in diameter, high-pressure trunk line southwest towards Rusk County.

Align Midstream Partners president and CEO Fritz Brinkman said: "With the addition of Panola I, we're excited to offer our customers a full suite of midstream services.

"The Murvaul trunk line doubles the reach of our current system and positions Align to grow with producers in East Texas."

Azure plans to continue to own and operate 210MMcf/d of natural gas processing capacity in East Texas, and has more than 950 miles of gathering pipeline in East Texas and North Louisiana.

Azure Midstream Partners CEO I.J. 'Chip' Berthelot said: "The transaction announced today is unique in that it allows us to reduce our debt by $41m and effectively increase our annual EBITDA run rate by about $1.5m through the elimination of fixed costs associated with the plant and pipeline sold."

Align will connect the acquired assets to its existing gathering and transportation system and will be in a position to provide a complete suite of services to its customers for the same molecule of gas.