ONEOK Partners to buy natural gas assets in Powder River Basin, US

US-based ONEOK Partners has signed an approximately $305m agreement to acquire Sage Creek plant and related natural gas gathering and natural gas liquids (NGL) infrastructure in western Converse and Campbell Counties in Wyoming.

The Sage Creek plant is a natural gas processing facility which produces around 50 million cubic feet per day.

The company also plans to invest approximately $135m to upgrade and construct natural gas gathering and processing infrastructure, NGL gathering pipelines and well connections in the Powder River Basin. As part of the deal, it will receive long-term acreage dedications and fee-based and percent-of-proceeds agreements with producers.

ONEOK Partners president Terry K Spencer said that the Sage Creek plant is expected to add additional natural gas gathering and processing capacity for the company in the region.

“This acquisition will add assets located in and around our operating footprint that can be integrated into our system and used as a platform for future growth opportunities,” Spencer added.

The company plans to complete the transaction in the third quarter of 2013 and the related infrastructure projects in the second half of 2014.

ONEOK currently operates Bakken NGL pipeline, and around 1,000 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines in the Powder River and Wind River Basins of Wyoming.

The company plans to invest approximately $5.2bn to $5.6bn through 2015, of which $2.4bn to $2.6bn is for natural gas gathering and processing projects, and $2.8bn to $3bn is for natural gas liquids projects.