Crestwood commissions Bucking Horse II gas plant
Crestwood Equity Partners LP has started commercial operations at its Bucking Horse II cryogenic natural gas processing plant in Converse County, Wyo., in the Powder River basin (OGJ Online, Feb. 18, 2020; July 27, 2018).
In operation as of Mar. 4, the 200-MMcfd increases Crestwood’s total Powder River basin processing capacity to 345 MMcfd, the operator said.
Alongside startup of the Bucking Horse II plant, Crestwood also confirmed it has entered a new gathering and processing agreement to provide wellhead services for Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s 2020 delineation program in Powder River basin, on the eastern portion of Crestwood’s existing Jackalope gas gathering services system in Converse County (OGJ Online, Apr. 10, 2019).
Based on proximity of Occidental’s wells to existing Jackalope system, Crestwood said it expects minimal incremental capital requirements to connect the new wells.
Occidental is one of the largest operators in the basin with about 400,000 net undeveloped acres, according to Crestwood.
Powder River basin update
There are currently 19 rigs running in the Powder River basin, three of which are running on acreage dedicated to the Jackalope system, Crestwood said.
In 2019, the Jackalope system averaged gathering volumes of 145 MMcfd and processing volumes of 125 MMcfd, increases of 41% and 46%, respectively, compared with 2018.
Based on current development plans from Chesapeake Energy Corp., Occidental, and Panther Energy Co., Crestwood said it expects to connect 45-50 wells to Jackalope in 2020, and estimates volume growth of 10% for gathering volumes and 15% for processing volumes above growth in 2019.
With the Bucking Horse II plant now completed, Crestwood said its capital requirements in the basin will decrease substantially. The operator, however, said it does plan to invest future capital in various expansion and optimization projects across the system, including line looping and compression.
Further details regarding the proposed capital investment projects were not disclosed.
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
