Appalachian Midstream Partners (AMP), a natural gas gathering and transportation services company operating in the Marcellus Shale, has entered into an agreement has secured an equity commitment of up to USD176m from private equity firm Avista Capital Partners.
Appalachian will use this equity commitment to develop and expand AMP’s initial system, Bear Print, which will serve gas production areas in north central Pennsylvania. AMP’s gathering system currently consists of approximately 56 miles of gathering pipeline spanning Clinton, Cameron and McKean Counties, provides access to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in northern Pennsylvania and has the ability to provide future access to the pipelines of Columbia Gas, Dominion, National Fuel and Transco at the Leidy storage field. AMP recently signed a gas gathering agreement with Pennsylvania General Energy Company, LLC (PGE) as an anchor customer on its Bear Print system. Pipeline construction was completed in April 2011 and AMP began providing gas transportation services for PGE in May.
Michael Calderone, Chief Executive Officer of AMP, says: "We are excited about our partnership with Avista, which has a proven track record of sponsoring exploration and production and midstream development companies in unconventional resource plays. This equity commitment from Avista allows AMP to support PGE’s Marcellus Shale development program and positions the Company to provide gathering and transportation services to other producers in the region."
Steven Webster (pictured), Co-Managing Partner of Avista says: "We are excited to partner with such an experienced midstream management team in a region that continues to experience significant development activity as a result of its superior well economics and proximity to high-value end markets. We believe the Marcellus Shale will continue to be an area of focus for exploration and production companies and this investment represents an attractive opportunity for us to meet the growing need for additional infrastructure in the region. Further, AMP’s existing system allows them to be a first-mover in the north central part of the state and the agreement with PGE fortifies the Company’s relationship with a leading producer in the region."
