Top five US gas processors eye additional expansions

J. STELL, Contributing Editor

According to recent industry analyses, natural gas processing capacity in the US climbed by 5.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) during 2013, and is set to increase by an additional 2.8 Bcfd in 2014. Also, approximately 1.4 million barrels per day (MMbpd) of fractionation capacity will come online between 2012 and 2015.

In 2013, estimated US natural gas liquids (NGL) production reached nearly 2.8 MMbpd and is expected to rise to 3.34 MMbpd in 2014; however, this volume could be smaller, depending on the continuing trend of ethane rejection.

While there are approximately 500 gas processing plants in the US, a group of 10 processing companies, many of which own pipelines and other midstream infrastructure, lead the nation in processing natural gas (see Figs. 1 and 2). The rankings are based on processing and production data for 2012, which are the most updated yearly statistics available as of the time of publication. The top five US gas processors are profiled as follows.

Fig. 1. Crosstex Energy Services’ Eunice fractionation plant and processing facility in Louisiana separates NGL and produces pipeline-quality dry natural gas.

Fig. 2. Devon Energy’s 620-MMcfd Bridgeport natural gas processing plant is one of the largest in the US, serving thousands of gas wells in the Barnett shale field in North Texas.

DCP Midstream LLC.

At the top of the list is DCP Midstream, with 6.1 Bcfd of processed gas in 2012, which represents more than 12% of all gas processed in the continental US in 2012. DCP produced more than 400 thousand barrels per day (Mbpd) of NGL, which represents about 17% of US NGL production.

The company’s assets are grouped into four main areas. The Rawhide processing plant and gathering systems are in the Permian basin of Texas, where DCP owns and operates 18 processing plants with a collective capacity of more than 1.3 Bcfd, and produces about 120 Mbpd of NGL. The Rawhide plant is part of DCP Midstream’s expansion program for the liquids-rich Permian.

The company’s National Helium is the largest gas processing plant in the Mid-Continent area, and it is one of 12 processing plants in DCP’s Mid-Continent assets, which together have a processing capacity of more than 2 Bcfd. The National Helium facility has access to the Mont Belvieu, Texas, and Gulf Coast petrochemical markets via the Southern Hills pipeline.

DCP’s O’Connor plant is a deep-cut cryogenic plant in Colorado that was built to process gas production from the Niobrara shale play. The O’Connor plant is part of an eight-plant system with a total approximate capacity of 600 MMcfd.

The company’s Eagle plant is part of its Eagle Ford play integrated system in South Texas, which has a processing capacity of 1.2 Bcfd and includes the Larose processing plant and the Paradis fractionation facility.

With its rank as the top US gas processor, the company continues to grow, with projects planned for the Denver-Julesburg basin, the Mid-Continent, the Eagle Ford shale and the Permian basin.

Enterprise Products Partners LP

Second on the list is Enterprise Products Partners. In 2012, Enterprise processed more than 6 Bcfd of gas and produced more than 343 Mbpd of NGL from its 24 processing plants in Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming. Total processing capacity for all 24 plants is more than 12.4 Bcfd. Enterprise also owns interests in 15 NGL fractionation facilities in Texas, Louisiana and Ohio.

In 2013, Enterprise began service from the third train of its Yoakum gas processing plant, which increased the facility’s capacity to 900 MMcfd, allowing Enterprise to extract up to 111 Mbpd of NGL at the site. Each train has an operating capacity of 85 Mbpd.

Also, the company plans to construct a new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) export terminal on the Gulf Coast. The initial loading rate for export-grade propane or butane service is expected to be 11 Mbbl per hour, which equates to approximately 6 MMbbl to 6.5 MMbbl per month (bpm).

The new LPG marine terminal is expected to be in service in the fourth quarter of 2015. Upon completion of the new terminal, and the recently announced expansion of the partnership’s existing terminal on the Houston Ship Channel, Enterprise will have aggregate capacity to load 15 MMbpm to 16 MMbpm of low-ethane propane and butane at its LPG marine terminals.

Williams Partners LP

Ranking third on the list is Williams Partners. In 2012, Williams processed nearly 4.5 Bcfd of gas and produced more than 20 Mbpd of NGL. The company’s large-scale midstream assets are concentrated in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, the Gulf of Mexico and the Marcellus shale in the Northeast.

In the Rocky Mountains, the company owns the Opal and Echo Springs processing plants in Wyoming, which have a combined daily inlet capacity of more than 2.2 Bcfd of gas and nearly 125 Mbpd of NGL production capacity. The Willow Creek processing plant in western Colorado has a gas processing capacity of 450 MMcfd and an NGL production capacity of 30 Mbpd.

The company’s Parachute complex and three other treating facilities in western Colorado have a combined processing capacity of 1.2 Bcfd. The Four Corners system in New Mexico and Colorado has five processing or treating plants. Those plants have the combined capacity to process and treat 1.5 Bcfd of gas to produce 41 Mbpd of NGL.

In the Gulf Coast region, the company has the Mobile Bay and Markham processing plants with a combined inlet capacity of 1.2 Bcfd and NGL production of 75 Mbpd.

In the Marcellus shale region in the northeast, Williams’ assets include a processing facility. There, construction is underway on a fractionation facility, and the company plans to build additional processing facilities.

Targa Resources Partners LP

In 2012, fourth-largest US gas processor Targa Resources processed more than 2 Bcfd of gas and produced nearly 129 Mbbl of NGL. Targa has five main areas of operations.

The company’s Sand Hills operations include its Sand Hills gathering and processing system and the West Seminole and Puckett gathering systems in West Texas. The Sand Hills refrigerated cryogenic processing plant has a gross processing capacity of 180 MMcfd.

The Versado operations consist of the Saunders, Eunice and Monument processing plants in southeastern New Mexico, which have an aggregate processing capacity of 280 MMcfd.

In West Texas, Targa’s SAOU processing facilities include the Mertzon, Sterling and Conger plants, with an aggregate processing capacity of 139 MMcfd.

The company’s North Texas system includes the Chico and Shackelford gas processing facilities. The Chico plant has an aggregate processing capacity of 265 MMcfd and an integrated fractionation capacity of 15 Mbpd. The Shackelford plant has an aggregate processing capacity of 13 MMcfd. Also, construction is nearly complete on Targa’s new 200-MMcfd cryogenic processing plant for the North Texas system.

The company’s Badlands assets in the Williston basin of the Bakken shale play include a 20-MMcfd processing plant, with an expansion underway to increase the plant’s capacity to 40 MMcfd.

MarkWest Energy Partners LP

MarkWest, the US’ fifth-largest gas processing company, processed in excess of 1.6 Bcfd of gas and produced more than 42 Mbbl of NGL in 2012. The company divides its operations into five regions—the Northeast, the Marcellus shale, the Utica shale, Texas and Oklahoma.

In the Northeast, MarkWest’s assets are in Kentucky, southwestern West Virginia and Michigan. The company has 652 MMcfd of processing capacity and 24 Mbpd of NGL fractionation capacity in those states, to serve producers in the Appalachian basin, the Huron-Berea shale, the Antrim shale and the Niagaran Reef fields.

In the Marcellus, MarkWest has 1.8 Bcfd of processing capacity and 98 Mbpd of fractionation to serve producers in southwestern and northwestern Pennsylvania, as well as in northern West Virginia.

In the Utica, the company partnered with the Energy and Minerals Group (EMG) in a joint venture (MarkWest Utica EMG) to develop fully integrated gathering, processing, fractionation, and marketing operations in the liquids-rich areas of eastern Ohio.

In Oklahoma, MarkWest has 235 MMcfd of processing capacity to serve producers in the Granite Wash and Woodford shales.

In Texas, the company has 542 MMcfd of processing capacity to serve producers in the Cotton Valley, Haynesville shale, Eagle Ford shale, Travis Peak and Pettit formations. For more on MarkWest’s operations and strategies, please see the “Executive Q&A Viewpoint” article in this issue.

Future candidate

Although Oneok Partners LP did not make the top 10 gas processors list this year, it almost certainly will at year-end 2014. As of September 2013, the company has a gas processing capacity of approximately 1.009 Bcfd, with several new projects planned.

In Oklahoma, Oneok is building the 200-MMcfd Canadian Valley plant, which is expected to be in service as of January 2014.

In North Dakota, the company will install the 100-MMcfd Garden Creek II facility by the third quarter of 2014, and the 100-MMcfd Garden Creek III plant is anticipated to start up by the first quarter of 2015. Also in North Dakota, Oneok will build the 200-MMcfd Lonesome Creek processing plant, which is expected to be completed by year-end 2015.

In summary, gas processing and NGL fractionation operators continue to expand capacities and build new facilities to meet the growing opportunities of rich gas production from US unconventional shale plays, and the buildout is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. GP

 

JEANNIE STELL is an award-winning writer and editor focused on the upstream, midstream and downstream energy industry. Her articles have been published in several languages, referenced in white papers by Microsoft and Iranian National Oil Co., and her photographs have been featured on industry magazine covers and in feature editorials. Ms. Stell is the founder of Energy Ink and can be reached at jstell@energyink.biz.