Williams, Crestwood Commission Bucking Horse Processing Plant

The Bucking Horse plant, along with the Jack­alope Gas Gathering System (JGGS), is owned through a 50-50 joint venture between Williams and Crestwood. The gathering and processing facilities provide services under a long-term, fee-based agreement with Chesapeake Energy Corp. (Oklahoma City). The Jackalope System includes about 184 miles of low-pressure gathering pipelines sup­ported by a 311,000-acre area of dedication from Chesa­peake. The joint venture expects volumes through the Bucking Horse plant to significantly ramp up throughout the remainder of the first quarter of 2015, utilizing much of its capacity as existing rich-gas production is redirected from third-party processing facilities and previously cur­tailed volumes along the Jackalope system begin to flow.

“The Bucking Horse plant positions us for addi­tional and continued growth in the Niobrara Shale,” said Walter Bennett, senior vice president for Williams’ West operating area. “Adding this asset to the Williams portfolio enhances the services we provide to Chesapeake. It also expands the existing Williams footprint in Wyoming that includes over 2.2 billion cubic feet per day of combined processing capacity at Opal and Echo Springs. Williams’ extensive operating expertise in Wyoming will allow JGGS to provide valuable midstream services focused on meet­ing customer needs. I am very appreciative of the great work by our entire Wyoming and Niobrara Shale team in coming together to get this plant up and running.”

Heath Deneke, president of the natural gas busi­ness unit at Crestwood, said, “We are pleased to complete the Bucking Horse plant and provide additional processing capacity to the underserved Powder River Basin Niobrara play. We look forward to working with Williams as our joint venture partner and providing Chesapeake with reli­able gathering and processing services. The completion of the Bucking Horse plant adds a substantial component to Crestwood’s portfolio of fee-based contracts and provides additional opportunities for long-term infrastructure devel­opment as production from the emerging Powder River Basin Niobrara continues to increase.”