MPLX expands Permian infrastructure development

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Jul 26, 2018, 07:35 ET

FINDLAY, Ohio, July 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) announced a number of steps it has taken to further expand its growing presence in the Permian basin, positioning the partnership to evolve its business model to include participation in a number of long-haul oil and gas pipelines.

Through its subsidiary, MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P., MPLX recently completed definitive agreements with Kaiser Francis Oil Company (KFOC) to provide gathering and processing services in the Delaware Basin oil and gas producing region, which is part of the Permian Basin. Under the terms of the agreements, with Kaiser Francis as an anchor, MarkWest will develop a 200 million cubic foot per day (cfd) gas processing plant located in Loving County, Texas, called the Torñado plant, and natural gas gathering infrastructure primarily in Lea County, New Mexico. The gas gathering infrastructure and gas processing plant being developed under this agreement are expected to be complete in August 2019. MarkWest also owns and operates two gas processing plants in Culberson County, Texas, which – along with others under development – are planned to be connected via a high pressure gathering system to the Torñado Plant.

Secondly, MPLX acquired a 10 percent equity interest in the Agua Blanca Pipeline originating in Orla, Texas, and terminating at Waha, Texas, which was placed in service in April 2018. Agua Blanca is fully subscribed at 1.4 billion cfd and can be expanded to 2 billion cfd. Agua Blanca is constructing a lateral to connect the MarkWest Argo Plant, which commenced operations in early 2018.

"We are pleased to support Kaiser Francis as they develop their proven acreage and anchor the Torñado plant in the Delaware basin," said Mike Hennigan, president of MPLX. "The commissioning of the Agua Blanca Pipeline and construction of the Torñado midstream facilities with the related gathering and processing system further advance our objective of providing fully integrated gathering, processing and gas transportation services for our producer customers in this prolific producing region."

About MPLX LP

MPLX is a diversified, growth-oriented master limited partnership formed in 2012 by Marathon Petroleum Corporation to own, operate, develop and acquire midstream energy infrastructure assets. MPLX is engaged in the gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas; the gathering, transportation, fractionation, storage and marketing of NGLs; the transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil and refined petroleum products; and the refining logistics and fuels distributions services through a marine fleet and approximately 10,000 miles of crude oil and light product pipelines. Headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, MPLX's assets consist of a network of crude oil and products pipelines and supporting assets, including storage facilities (tank farms) located in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions of the United States; 62 light-product terminals with approximately 24 million barrels of storage capacity; an inland marine business; storage caverns with approximately 2.8 million barrels of storage capacity; a barge dock facility with approximately 80,000 barrels per day of crude oil and product throughput capacity; tanks with storage capacity of approximately 56 million barrels as well as refinery docks, loading racks and associated piping; and gathering and processing assets that include approximately 5.9 billion cubic feet per day of gathering capacity, 8.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas processing capacity and 610,000 barrels per day of fractionation capacity.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, statements with respect to forecasts regarding capacity and timing for becoming operational for the opportunities discussed above, as well as MPLX's future growth and results of operations. You can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "design," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "guidance," "imply," "intend," "objective," "opportunity," "outlook," "plan," "position," "pursue," "prospective," "predict," "project," "potential," "seek," "strategy," "target," "could," "may," "should," "would," "will" or other similar expressions that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the control of the company and are difficult to predict. Factors that could impact the opportunities described above are: the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices and demand for crude oil, refined products, feedstocks or other hydrocarbon-based products; continued/further volatility in and/or degradation of market and industry conditions; changes to the expected construction costs and timing of projects; completion of capacity by our competitors; the ability to obtain required regulatory approvals on a timely basis; the occurrence of an operational hazard or unforeseen interruption; and the factors set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in MPLX's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2017, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In addition, the forward-looking statements included herein could be affected by general domestic and international economic and political conditions. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed here or in MPLX's Form 10-K could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements. Copies of MPLX's Form 10-K are available on the SEC website, MPLX's website at http://ir.mplx.com or by contacting MPLX's Investor Relations office.

SOURCE MPLX LP