Oneok to expand natural gas infrastructure in US with $2.3bn investment

Oneok has unveiled plans to invest around $2.3bn through to 2020 on additional natural gas infrastructure projects in the US.

The proposed projects comprise the new 530-mile Arbuckle II Pipeline, that has the capacity to transport 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) unfractionated natural gas liquids (NGL) between Oneok’s Mid-Continent infrastructure in Oklahoma and its existing NGL facilities in Mont Belvieu, Texas.

The plan also includes the construction of a new 125,000bpd NGL fractionator, known as MB-4, and related infrastructure in Mont Belvieu, Texas.

Oneok president and CEO Terry Spencer said: “The Arbuckle II Pipeline and MB-4 fractionator will help meet the needs of NGL producers in all of the basins where we operate, including the STACK and SCOOP areas and the Denver-Julesburg, Powder River, Williston and Permian basins.

“These strategic projects complement our recently announced Elk Creek pipeline, increasing ONEOK’s ability to deliver NGLs from the Rocky Mountain region to growing markets in the Gulf Coast.”

The company will also build a new 200 million cubic feet per day (mmcfpd) natural gas processing facility known as the Demicks Lake plant, as well as related infrastructure in the Williston basin.

Spencer further added: “The Demicks Lake plant will provide critical natural gas processing capacity to accommodate increasing Williston basin production, helping producers meet natural gas capture targets in North Dakota.”

Approximately $1.36bn of the total spending will be allocated to the Arbuckle II Pipeline, which is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2020.

The project also offers the capability to enhance the company’s current capacity between the Mid-Continent and Gulf Coast by more than two times through expansion of the pipeline’s capacity of up to one million bpd with additional pump facilities.

The MB-4 fractionator and related infrastructure, comprising additional NGL storage capacity in Mont Belvieu, will be built at a cost of around $575m and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

Meanwhile, the Demicks Lake plant, which is set to be constructed in McKenzie County, North Dakota at a cost of approximately $400m, will be completed during the fourth quarter of next year.