TULSA, Okla., Jan 31, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS) announced today that Fort Union Gas Gathering, L.L.C. is doubling its existing gathering pipeline capacity by adding 148 miles of new gathering lines and 649 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of additional capacity. ONEOK Partners' subsidiary, Crestone Powder River, L.L.C., has a 37.04 percent interest in Fort Union Gas Gathering.
The Fort Union gas gathering system is located in the Powder River Basin and gathers coal bed methane gas from wells in northeast Wyoming, including the Big George coals. The expansion project will cost approximately $110 million and will occur in two phases: 240 MMcfd by Oct. 1, 2007, and 409 MMcfd by Jan. 1, 2008. This additional capacity has been fully subscribed for 10 years, beginning with the in-service date of the expansion.
When the expansion project is completed, the Fort Union gas gathering system will have a capacity of 1.3 Bcfd of capacity and span 318 miles -- three 24-inch pipes running side by side for 106 miles -- making it the largest capacity gathering system in the Powder River Basin.
The coal bed methane gas on the Fort Union system requires treating to remove carbon dioxide from the gas stream to meet interstate pipeline gas- quality specifications. Fort Union has recently tripled the treating capacity of its Medicine Bow gas treating facility at the southern terminus of the Fort Union system.
The Fort Union gas gathering system, after treating the natural gas for carbon dioxide, delivers it into multiple interstate pipelines including the Wyoming Interstate (WIC) Medicine Bow, Colorado Interstate Gas (CIG) and Kinder Morgan Interstate pipelines (KMIGT).
Fort Union Gas Gathering, L.L.C. is owned by Cantera Gas Holdings, LLC, a Metalmark Capital portfolio company, with a 37.04 percent interest, and managing member; Crestone Powder River, L.L.C., a subsidiary of ONEOK Partners, with a 37.04 percent interest, and administrative manager; Western Gas Wyoming, L.L.C., an Anadarko company, with a 14.81 percent interest; and Bargath Inc., one of the Williams Companies, with an 11.11 percent interest. Western Gas Resources, Inc., also an Anadarko company and the field operator of Fort Union, will be responsible for the construction.
For additional information on the Fort Union gas gathering system, please refer to the Fort Union Web site at http://www.fortuniongg.com or contact Bruce Bomholt at 303-222-6208.
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ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS) is one of the largest publicly traded limited partnerships, and is a leader in the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas in the U.S. and owns one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting much of the natural gas and NGL supply in the mid-continent with key market centers. Its general partner is owned by ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE), a diversified energy company, which owns 45.7 percent of the overall partnership interest. ONEOK is one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States, and its energy services operation focuses primarily on marketing natural gas and related services throughout the U.S.
For more information, visit the Web sites at http://www.oneokpartners.com or http://www.oneok.com .
Analyst Contact: Ellen Konsdorf
877-208-7318
Media Contact: Beth Jensen
402-492-3400
OKS-PP
SOURCE ONEOK Partners, L.P.
analysts, Ellen Konsdorf, +1-877-208-7318, or media, Beth Jensen, +1-402-492-3400,
both of ONEOK Partners, L.P.
http://www.oneok.com