MPLX, MarkWest Progress With Natural Gas Processing Buildout

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) (Findlay, Ohio), the midstream spinoff of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) (Findlay), reported a solid full-year 2018. The company reported full-year net income of $1.8 billion, an increase of $1 billion from 2017. The company's increased earnings come in the midst of a rapid expansion of natural gas processing and fractionation capacity, primarily through its wholly owned subsidiary MarkWest Energy Partners LP (Denver, Colorado). MPLX and MarkWest are not content to stop with their 2018 achievements and have a great many other projects in the works.

In the company's recent fourth-quarter 2018 earnings conference call, MPLX President Mike Hennigan gave a summary of the company's achievements in 2018. Hennigan said, "Gathered volumes averaged 4.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2018, a 26% increase versus the prior year. Process volumes averaged 7 Bcf/d for the year, a 9% increase over 2017. The increase was primarily driven by significant volume growth in the Marcellus Basin. Fractionated volumes averaged 459,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) for 2018, representing a 16% increase over 2017. We commissioned eight processing plants and three fractionation facilities over the course of 2018. In total, we increased our processing capacity by nearly 20% to over 9.3 Bcf/d, while also adding 100,000 BBL/d of fractionation capacity."

Among the projects MarkWest completed in the fourth quarter was the construction of the grassroot Harmon Creek cryogenic natural gas processing plant near Bulger, Pennsylvania. The two-train plant can process up to 200 million cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale and has a natural gas liquids production capacity of 20,000 BBL/d. The project had an estimated total investment value (TIV) of $150 million. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the processing facility and de-ethanizer.

MPLX's processing and fractionation capacity is only set to increase. Hennigan said, "In the Gathering and Processing segment, we expect to add approximately 800 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity and 100,000 BBL/d of fractionation capacity in 2019. This is incremental to the processing capacity that came online in the fourth quarter of 2018, which will help support the production growth that we anticipate in 2019."

Among the projects MPLX and MarkWest plan to start and complete this year is the grassroot Smithburg natural gas processing complex near New Milton, West Virginia. The plant will have a processing capacity of 200 million cubic feet per day of natural gas sourced from the Marcellus Shale. Construction is set to begin soon and be completed in the fourth quarter. Doss Enterprises is the contractor on the project, which has an estimated TIV of $150 million. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

The company's footprint is not limited to the Marcellus region. In Texas' Delaware Basin, MarkWest is underway with construction of the Tornado natural gas gathering system and processing facility. The gathering system will span 150 miles and transport gas to MarkWest's grassroot processing plant near Mentone, Texas. Construction of the processing plant kicked off late last year and is expected to wrap up this summer. VERITAS Gas Processing (Whitehouse, Texas) is providing engineering, procurement and construction. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report. Construction of the gathering system is set to begin soon and also will be completed this summer. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Also in Texas, MPLX is involved in a joint venture natural gas pipeline project with Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) (Houston, Texas), NextEra Energy Resources Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) and WhiteWater Midstream (Austin, Texas). The Whistler Pipeline will transport up to 2 Bcf/d of natural gas from the Permian Basin to the Texas Gulf Coast. Hennigan said the project was in the detailed engineering phase. Construction could begin later this year, for completion by the end of 2020. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Fort Stockton and El Campo sections of the pipeline as well as the Pecos lateral.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.