DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2012--
MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: MWE) today announced expansion
plans for the Marcellus and Utica shales that include more than 600
million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of additional processing capacity
and 140,000 barrels per day (Bbl/d) of incremental fractionation
capacity. Once complete, MarkWest will operate approximately 2.3 billion
cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of processing capacity and nearly 300,000
Bbl/d of fractionation capacity serving the Northeast shales, including
the Huron, Marcellus, and Utica.
MarkWest announced today additional significant expansion projects to
serve producer customers in the hydrocarbon-rich area of the Marcellus
Shale, including a 400 MMcf/d expansion of its Majorsville processing
complex, bringing total cryogenic processing capacity at Majorsville to
670 MMcf/d. The Majorsville expansion includes two, 200 MMcf/d
processing trains that are expected to come online in 2013, and will be
supported by long-term agreements with CONSOL Energy, Noble Energy, and
Range Resources. Natural gas liquids (NGLs) recovered at the Majorsville
processing complex, and all other MarkWest processing complexes in the
Marcellus, are transported via an extensive NGL gathering system to
MarkWest’s Houston, Pennsylvania fractionation, storage, and marketing
complex. Since 2008, MarkWest has invested significant capital to
develop critical midstream infrastructure to support producers operating
in the liquids-rich areas of the Marcellus, and when the Majorsville and
other recently announced expansions come online, MarkWest will operate
more than 1.5 Bcf/d of processing capacity in the rich-gas corridor of
the Marcellus.
MarkWest is also further expanding its Marcellus NGL infrastructure with
the announcement of new de-ethanization capacity at its Houston and
Majorsville complexes and the installation of a large purity ethane
pipeline between its Majorsville and Houston processing complexes. In
2011, MarkWest announced the construction of two de-ethanization
facilities with the capacity to produce up to 75,000 Bbl/d of purity
ethane by mid-2013. In order to accommodate increasing liquids-rich
production from its producer customers, MarkWest is planning to
construct a third de-ethanization facility that will increase production
capacity of purity ethane to 115,000 Bbl/d by 2014, bringing MarkWest’s
total NGL fractionation capacity in the Marcellus to 175,000 Bbl/d when
the incremental de-ethanization capacity announced today comes online.
The first phase of ethane production capacity of 75,000 Bbl/d and the
purity ethane pipeline are expected to come online in mid-2013 in
conjunction with the completion of Mariner West, a pipeline project
jointly developed by MarkWest and Sunoco Logistics L.P. (NYSE: SXL) to
deliver Marcellus ethane to petrochemical markets in Sarnia, Ontario,
Canada. MarkWest’s de-ethanization and ethane pipeline infrastructure
will also serve other ethane transportation projects, including Mariner
East and Enterprise Product Partners’ ATEX Express ethane pipeline, to
transport Marcellus ethane to end-user markets in the Gulf Coast and
international markets.
In December 2011, MarkWest and The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) formed
MarkWest Utica EMG, L.L.C. (MarkWest Utica), a joint venture focused on
the development of significant natural gas processing and NGL
fractionation, transportation, and marketing infrastructure to serve
producers’ aggressive drilling programs in the Utica shale in eastern
Ohio. MarkWest Utica and MarkWest Liberty today announced the first
phase of their Utica development plan including two new processing
complexes in Harrison and Monroe counties and 100,000 Bbl/d of
fractionation, storage, and marketing capacity in Harrison County. The
processing and fractionation complexes will provide critical rich-gas
processing and NGL fractionation, storage, and marketing services for
multiple Eastern Ohio counties that comprise the majority of the
liquids-rich core of the Utica. The Harrison complex will include 200
MMcf/d of cryogenic processing capacity and is expected to begin initial
operations in mid-2013. MarkWest is finalizing the design capacity of
the Monroe County complex, which is also expected to begin operations in
2013. Both processing complexes will be connected via an NGL gathering
system to the Harrison County fractionation facilities that will be
operational in 2013. Creating a large network of processing complexes
connected through an extensive NGL gathering system has been critical to
the full development of the Marcellus, and the announced Ohio facilities
represent the first major step in providing Utica producers with the
same benefits. Additionally, the Harrison fractionation facilities,
which will be able to market NGLs by truck, rail, and pipeline, will be
connected to MarkWest’s extensive processing and NGL pipeline network in
Pennsylvania and West Virginia and will provide for the integrated
operation of the two largest fractionation complexes in the Northeastern
United States.
MarkWest Utica’s midstream development plans announced today are
expected to result in up to 700 construction-related employment
opportunities and more than 40 full-time, long-term positions with
MarkWest. As MarkWest Utica develops additional midstream infrastructure
in the future, construction-related and full-time, long-term job
opportunities could increase significantly.
In accordance with the terms of the MarkWest Utica joint venture, EMG
will fund a pre-determined amount of the initial capital expenditures
required to develop the Utica midstream infrastructure, after which
MarkWest and EMG will jointly fund capital expenditures.
"We are very excited to announce significant midstream projects that are
critical to the full development of the liquids-rich areas of the
Marcellus shale in southwest Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia and
the Utica shale in eastern Ohio," said Frank Semple, Chairman, President
and Chief Executive Officer of MarkWest. "Over the past four years,
MarkWest has established a market-leading position as the largest
provider of natural gas midstream and NGL infrastructure in the
Marcellus, and the Marcellus midstream infrastructure projects announced
today will drive substantial incremental value to MarkWest and our
producer customers. We are also very pleased to work closely again with
EMG to establish a leading presence in the liquids-rich corridor of the
Utica Shale through the development of significant natural gas
processing and NGL transportation, fractionation, storage, and marketing
infrastructure. The full spectrum of natural gas midstream services,
particularly the fractionation and marketing of NGLs at world-scale
fractionation complexes, is critical to the success of Utica and
Marcellus producers, and MarkWest will continue to be a leading provider
of integrated midstream services in the Northeast."
MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. is a master limited partnership
engaged in the gathering, transportation, and processing of natural gas;
the transportation, fractionation, marketing, and storage of natural gas
liquids; and the gathering and transportation of crude oil. MarkWest has
extensive natural gas gathering, processing, and transmission operations
in the southwest, Gulf Coast, and northeast regions of the United
States, including the Marcellus Shale, and is the largest natural gas
processor and fractionator in the Appalachian region.
This press release includes “forward-looking statements.” All
statements other than statements of historical facts included or
incorporated herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Actual
results could vary significantly from those expressed or implied in such
statements and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties.
Although MarkWest believes that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking statements are reasonable, MarkWest can give no
assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that affect
operations, financial performance, and other factors as discussed in
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the
factors that could cause results to differ materially are those risks
discussed in the periodic reports MarkWest files with the SEC, including
its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, and
its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2011,
and September 30, 2011. You are urged to carefully review and consider
the cautionary statements and other disclosures made in those filings,
specifically those under the heading “Risk Factors.” MarkWest
does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statement
except as required by law.

Source: MarkWest Energy Partners
MarkWest Energy Partners
Frank Semple, 866-858-0482
Chairman,
President & CEO
or
Nancy Buese, 866-858-0482
Senior
VP & CFO
or
Dan Campbell, 866-858-0482
VP
of Finance & Treasurer
investorrelations@markwest.com