Utica East Ohio expansion coming

Staff report

Access Midstream Partners LP on Monday announced that new commitments from its partners in eastern Ohio and a new contract are spurring a major expansion of the Utica East Ohio midstream service complex.

The Oklahoma City-based company said the additional commitments will increase UEO’s throughput by 70 percent over previous levels.

Customers Chesapeake Energy Corp., Total Gas & Power North America and Enervest Ltd. all increased their commitments.

A new long-term agreement with American Energy-Utica, an affiliate of American Energy Partners LP, will include 145,000 acres of mutual interest and 50 miles of gathering and compression services.

“Our investment in this expansion at UEO underscores our belief in the long-term viability of the Utica Shale,” Mike Stice, CEO of Access Midstream, said in a statement. “This growth not only significantly increases our capacity but will improve access to downstream liquids markets. We are pleased to grow our partnership with M3 and EV Energy Partners and enhance our ability to continue providing excellent midstream solutions for our customers.”

The expansion will bring UEO’s capacity to 1 billion cubic feet per day.

UEO, a joint venture, is owned 49 percent by Access Midstream, 30 percent by M3 Midstream LLC and 21 percent by EV Energy Partners LP.