Meritage Midstream Services II LLC has bought Thunder Creek Gas Services LLC and its more than 500 miles of gathering pipelines in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the company said Tuesday.

The system also includes three natural gas treating facilities, compression and gas processing facilities as well as various natural gas liquid (NGL) and condensate handling infrastructure. The deal with Devon Energy Corp. and PVR Partners LP closed Aug. 9; the purchase price was not disclosed.

“The Thunder Creek system is a great addition to the significant midstream footprint we are building in one of the country’s most exciting emerging shale basins,” said Meritage CEO Steve Huckaby. “The Powder River Basin is home to multiple oil and liquids-rich formations, and producers are expanding their drilling programs at a rapid pace.”

Golden, CO-based Meritage is also developing the Black Thunder Terminal, a joint venture with Arch Coal, in Campbell County, WY. The terminal will provide storage, blending and rail loading services for crude oil and condensate produced in the Powder River Basin. Meritage said it expects to expand the Thunder Creek gathering system to provide pipeline service to the terminal.

“Meritage will be offering an array of midstream services designed to meet the challenges of moving and processing natural gas, NGLs, condensate, crude oil and produced water in a rapid, cost-effective way,” Huckaby said. “Bundling midstream services is a strategy we will continue to pursue. By placing multiple lines in one ditch we can help alleviate truck traffic and provide our customers with meaningful efficiencies and cost savings.”

Thunder Creek was formed in the late 1990s by Devon and KN Energy to build and operate what started out as a $110 million, 126-mile gathering system targeting coalbed methane production (see Daily GPI, March 5, 1999;Sept. 11, 1998).

Meritage is backed by initial equity commitments of up to $500 million from Riverstone Holdings LLC (see Shale Daily, July 20, 2012).