TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Oneok Partners L.P. said Monday that it will spend $440 million to acquire and improve some natural gas-related assets in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming.
The company said the deal includes the purchase of a natural gas processing facility, known as the Sage Creek plant, for $305 million from an undisclosed seller. It also plans to spend $135 million to upgrade and construct natural gas gathering and processing related infrastructure, such as pipelines and well connections.
Oneok said it will gain gathering and processing capacity in a region where producers are actively drilling and that has significant long-term growth potential. The deal expands on its existing footprint in the area, such as its adjacent Bakken NGL pipeline.
The company said it expects to close the transaction during the third quarter of 2013 and complete the related infrastructure projects in the second half 2014.
Oneok, based in Tulsa, Okla., is a limited partnership. Its general partner is a wholly owned subsidiary of energy company Oneok Inc.
It said that as a result of the acquisition and further investment, the partnership's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is expected to increase by $40 million to $60 million between 2015 and 2018.
In addition to the Bakken pipeline, Oneok Partners currently operates about 1,000 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines in the Powder River and Wind River Basins in Wyoming.
Shares of Oneok Partners fell 65 cents to close at $49.73 Monday and were unchanged in after-hours trading following the announcement.