Martin Midstream Partners LP said Tuesday its Waskom Gas Processing Co. (WGPC) joint venture has agreed to buy the East Texas natural gas gathering and processing assets of Crosstex Energy LP and Crosstex Energy Inc. for $40 million.

The assets to be purchased consist of approximately 60 miles of gathering pipelines, two compressor stations and three gas processing refrigeration plants. The system’s current throughput capacity is approximately 75 MMcf/d, which can be expanded with additional compression.

The transaction is subject to normal conditions and is expected to close in January. WGPC’s general partners are CenterPoint Energy Gas Processing Co., a subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy Inc.; and Prism Gas Systems I LP, the operator of WGPC and a subsidiary of Martin Midstream Partners.

“These assets complement WGPC’s existing infrastructure and strengthen its position for future Cotton Valley and Haynesville production. The transaction mirrors our focused growth strategy in these key production areas,” said Ruben Martin, CEO of Martin Midstream GP LLC, the general partner of Martin Midstream Partners.

The partnership also said it has amended and extended its senior secured credit facility that was originally scheduled to mature on Nov. 10, 2010. The partnership increased its borrowing capacity to $335.67 million and extended the maturity date to Nov. 9, 2012.

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