Fractionation

ONEOK Partners LP said it will spend $180 million to $240 million by the first half of 2012 for natural gas liquids (NGL) projects in the Cana-Woodford Shale and Granite Wash plays.

Gulf Coast Fractionators said it will expand the capacity of its natural gas liquids fractionation facility in Mont Belvieu, TX, by 43,000 b/d (42%) to 145,000 b/d. Gulf Coast is a partnership of ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy Corp. and Targa Resources Partners LP. ConocoPhillips, as the operator, will manage the expansion. Existing operations are not expected to be disrupted during the construction. The expansion is expected to be operational during the second quarter of 2012, subject to regulatory approvals.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) late Wednesday said it sold its Powder River Gathering System and the Painter Unit fractionation facility in Wyoming to Momentum Energy Group LLC for approximately $43 million in cash. The parties also executed a long-term processing agreement at KMP’s Douglas processing plant. Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down debt. KMP management said the assets were not core to the company’s strategy, which is operating transportation pipelines and terminals. KMP owns or operates more than 27,000 miles of pipelines and approximately 145 terminals. Its pipelines transport more than 2 million bbl/d of gasoline and other petroleum products and up to 9 Bcf/d of natural gas.

Following on the heels of its merger with El Paso Corp.’s GulfTerra Energy Partners LLP last month, Enterprise Products Partners LP announced last week it is restructuring its board of directors so that most of the general partner’s directors are independent. Enterprise merged with GulfTerra, El Paso Corp.’s energy partnership, in mid-December (see Daily GPI, Dec. 16, 2003).

Aux Sable Liquid Products Inc. said its new natural gas liquids(NGL) extraction and fractionation facilities in Channahon, IL, wentinto operation last Friday in conjunction with the start-up of serviceon the Alliance Pipeline system (see Daily GPI, Dec. 1, 2000).

Dynegy Inc. (formerly NGC Corp.) sold its Haynesville, LA, gasprocessing and fractionation facility and related gas and gasliquids pipeline systems to Duke Energy Field Services. The sale ofthe non-strategic asset continues the rationalization of certaingas processing plants acquired from Trident and Chevron, which hasresulted in greater operating efficiencies and lower costs, Dynegysaid.