Chemical plant 9
Veresen Inc. announced the successful start-up of the Tower rich gas processing plant on September 20, 2017, ahead of schedule and under budget. The Tower processing plant has the capacity to process 200 mmcf/d of natural gas, and is the first of three Veresen Midstream facilities that support Cutbank Ridge Partnership's ("CRP") condensate-focused growth plan in the Montney in the Dawson region of Northeast British Columbia.
The two remaining plants currently under construction are also ahead of schedule and under budget. The 400 mmcf/d Sunrise processing plant is expected to start-up by mid-October with throughput anticipated to ramp up throughout 2018. The Saturn processing plant is anticipated have one of its two 200 mmcf/d trains in-service by year-end, followed by the second train in the first half of 2018.
When all three facilities are operational, Veresen Midstream will have 1.5 bcf/d of gas processing capacity in operation and will be a dominant player in the core of the Montney, one of North America's most prolific and competitive liquids-rich resource plays.
The Dawson Midstream Service Agreement between CRP and Veresen Midstream provides Veresen Midstream with an attractive expected return on all invested capital through a 30-year, fee-for-service arrangement. Commercial terms include a production dedication to Veresen Midstream's gathering system for CRP's Montney natural gas production within a defined Area of Mutual Interest.
Veresen Midstream, a joint venture with affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. in which Veresen holds an approximately 47% interest, has committed to fund up to $5 billion ($2.3 billion net to Veresen) of new infrastructure within the AMI to service CRP's planned production growth, including gas gathering pipelines, compression and processing facilities. Under the agreement, Encana manages the construction of new infrastructure within the AMI and will operate the gathering pipelines and compression and processing facilities on behalf of Veresen Midstream on a contracted basis. Veresen Midstream will assume operatorship of processing facilities at its option after an interim operating period. Veresen Midstream retains the flexibility to increase the capacity for new facilities in order to service third-party gas volumes.
