(Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall)
HOUSTON, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CenterPoint Energy Field Services, Inc. (CEFS), an indirect, wholly-owned natural gas gathering and treating subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. , announced today that it has entered into long-term agreements with subsidiaries of EnCana and Shell to provide gathering and treating services for their growing Haynesville Shale natural gas production. CEFS also acquired gathering facilities from EnCana and Shell in De Soto and Red River parishes in northwest Louisiana. The agreements are with EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. (EnCana), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of EnCana Corporation (NYSE, TSX: ECA), and SWEPI LP (Shell), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc .
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Under the terms of the agreements, CEFS will expand the acquired facilities to gather and treat up to 700 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/day) of natural gas from its current throughput to over 100 MMcf/day. If EnCana and/or Shell elect, CEFS will expand its facilities in order to gather and treat additional future volumes. In addition, the agreements include volume commitments.
"These agreements present significant growth opportunities for CenterPoint Energy Field Services," said C. Gregory Harper, senior vice president and group president of CenterPoint Energy's Pipelines and Field Services group. "It extends our footprint in north Louisiana and gives us a platform for scalable growth and positions us to be a significant participant in providing natural gas gathering services in this important producing region."
"We are excited to provide these critical services to high quality companies like EnCana and Shell as they develop their properties in the Haynesville Shale one of the largest natural gas shale plays in the United States," said Bill May, division senior vice president of Marketing and Business Development for CEFS. "The volumes committed under these long-term agreements will further increase our foundation of fee-based revenues."
The long-term gas gathering agreements provide for gathering and treating services to commence immediately from the acquired facilities. New construction to reach 700 MMcf/day includes more than 200 miles of pipelines, nearly 25,500 horsepower of compression and over 800 MMcf/day of treating capacity. CEFS estimates that the cost for the 700 MMcf/day facilities, including the purchase of existing facilities, will be between $300 million and $325 million. Depending on expansion elections by Shell and EnCana, CEFS would invest as much as $250 to $300 million for additional facilities under the agreements.
