Equity-backed Nuevo Midstream Dos LLC plans to purchase and expand an oil gathering, storage and intermediate transportation system in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.

The Houston-based operator, which is backed by EnCap Flatrock Midstream, is purchasing Republic Midstream LLC from Republic Development Partners LLC, an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners. Financial terms of the deal, expected to close early in 2Q2019, were not disclosed.

Nuevo Dos plans to expand the Republic system, which includes a central delivery point (CDP) facility in western Lavaca County with 300,000 bbl of storage and a six-bay truck station. The CDP is fed by about 100 miles of eight-inch diameter gathering pipeline that extends into Lavaca.

Republic’s system also includes a 26-mile, 12-inch diameter pipeline with 120,000 b/d of capacity that interconnects with Enterprise Products Partners LP’s Eagle Ford Crude Oil Pipeline System and terminates at Kinder Morgan Inc.’s Dewitt Station and an interconnection with the Kinder Morgan Crude and Condensate Pipeline (KMCC). Both pipelines deliver crude and condensate to multiple terminals and have access to refineries, petrochemical plants and export terminals along the Gulf Coast.

Kinder Morgan agreed to build the interconnection and other facilities for KMCC after signing a long-term transportation agreement with Republic in 2014. Also in 2014, Republic reached a deal with Penn Virginia Corp. to build and operate the CDP, gathering system and intermediate oil pipeline.

Earlier this month, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in its latest Drilling Productivity Report, said it expected Eagle Ford oil production to increase to 1.44 million b/d in April, up from the current rate of 1.43 million b/d. The EIA said the number of drilled but uncompleted wells in the Eagle Ford increased by 16 in February to 1,543.