Summit Midstream adds to DJ basin position through Moonrise Midstream acquisition
Summit Midstream Holdings LLC (SMP Holdings), a subsidiary of Summit Midstream Corp., Houston, (Summit, SMC) its wholly owned subsidiary, has acquired Moonrise Midstream LLC, Denver, from Fundare Resources Co. Holdco LLC for $90 million.
The deal, comprised of $70 million in cash and $20 million in SMC equity, expands Summit's gathering and processing footprint in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) basin with about 80 miles of natural gas gathering pipeline, about 25 miles of crude oil gathering pipeline, and 65 MMcfd of additional processing capacity, expandable to about 100 MMcfd with modest capital investment, the company said in a release Mar. 10.
Heath Deneke, president, chief executive officer, and chairman, said the deal expands the company’s footprint and dedicated acreage in the DJ basin and provides incremental processing capacity to be utilized in the coming years as volumes behind its legacy systems continue to grow in 2026 and beyond.
“Following the acquisitions of the Outrigger and Sterling systems in December 2022, we have experienced significant volume growth behind our integrated DJ gathering and processing system and certain areas of our system are nearing full utilization,” Deneke said.
“There are currently three rigs running behind our dedicated acreage position in the DJ and two of our key customers have sizeable multi-year development plans beginning in 2026,” he said. “About half” of Moonrise’s 65 MMcfd of processing capacity “is expected to be available to help alleviate [Summit’s] integrated DJ system constraints,” he said.
Summit is operationally connected to the Moonrise system through multiple existing interconnections.
Moonrise assets
The Moonrise assets, in Weld County, Colo., are comprised of a natural gas processing plant, about 80 miles of low-pressure natural gas gathering lines, 22,300 hp of compression, and about 25 miles of crude oil gathering pipelines.
Moonrise gathering agreements are long-term, primarily fee-based contracts with about 50% of dedicated volumes under life-of-lease agreements and the other 50% have a weighted average remaining term of over 13 years. Volume throughput on the Moonrise system is underpinned by acreage dedications, with an estimated 60,000 leased acres from its key customers, including Fundare Resources, Verdad, Bison IV, and a large integrated energy company. Moonrise delivers residue gas to Trailblazer/Rockies Express pipeline, natural gas liquids to Overland Pass pipeline, and crude oil to Pony Express pipeline.
