Thursday, September 4, 2014

Top Transportation Stocks For 2014

FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) plans to release its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 on Wednesday, March 19, 2014 before the market opens The Company plans to host a webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET the same day to review the results and management's outlook.

Wall Street anticipates that the delivery company will earn $1.51 per share for the quarter, which is $0.28 more than last year's profit of $1.23 per share. iStock expects FDX �to miss Wall Street's consensus number. The iEstimate is $1.47, a bearish surprise of $0.04; although, we could be lowballing the Dow Transportation Index member's actual results.

[Related -FedEx Corporation (FDX): George Soros And John Paulson Own This Stock. Should You?]

Along with EPS rising an expected 22.76%, sales are forecasted to increase 4.6%. The consensus revenue estimate for Q3 is $11.46 billion, up from last year's $10.95 billion.

5 Best Machinery Stocks To Buy Right Now: Oiltanking Partners LP (OILT)

Oiltanking Partners, L.P. (OTLT) is engaged in the terminaling, storage and transportation of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Oiltanking Houston, L.P. (OTH) and Oiltanking Beaumont Partners, L.P. (OTB), the Company owns and operates storage and terminaling assets located along the Gulf Coast of the United States on the Houston, Texas Ship Channel and in Beaumont, Texas. Its Houston and Beaumont terminals provides deep-water access and interconnectivity to refineries, chemical and petrochemical companies, carrier and pipelines and production facilities and have international distribution capabilities. Its facilities are directly connected to 18 refineries, storage facilities and production facilities along the Gulf Coast area through pipelines and common carrier pipelines, to end markets along the Gulf Coast and to the Cushing, Oklahoma storage interchange.

Houston Terminal

The Company operates third-party crude oil and refined petroleum products terminals on the Houston Ship Channel. Its facility has an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 11.7 million barrels and provides integrated terminaling services to a variety of customers, including integrated oil companies, marketers, distributors and chemical companies. The principal products handled at its Houston terminal complex are crude oil, the inputs for chemical production (such as naphtha and condensate), which are referred to as chemical feedstocks, liquefied petroleum gas and clean petroleum products, such as gasoline and distillates, with crude oil accounting for approximately 64% of its active storage capacity.

The Company�� storage and distribution network is integrated with the Houston petrochemical and refining complex. The facility handles products through a number of transportation modes, primarily through pipelines interconnected to local refineries and production facilities, including Houston Refining�� refine! ry in Pasadena, Texas, PRSI�� refinery in Pasadena, Texas, ExxonMobil�� refinery in Baytown, Texas, which is a refinery in the United States. Its Houston terminal also handles products through third-party crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquified petroleum gas tankers and barges arriving at its deep-water docks. Its waterfront capabilities consists of six deep-water ship docks, allowing for the dockage of vessels with up to 130,000 deadweight tons (dwt), of cargo and vessel capacity, and two barge docks, allowing for barges with up to 20,000 dwt of cargo and barge capacity. Its deep-water ship docks can accommodate vessels with up to a 45 foot draft, including Suezmax tankers, which can navigate the Houston Ship Channel. During the year ended December 31, 2011 (during 2011), the Company generated 22% of its Houston terminal revenues from throughput fees charged to non-storage customers.

The Company�� real property at its Houston terminal consists of approximately 327 acres, including 63 acres of nearby parcels that could be connected to its Houston terminal through existing owned rights-of-way. The Company owns approximately 24 acres at the Crossroads Interchange approximately six miles from its Houston terminal.

Beaumont Terminal

The Company�� Beaumont terminal serves as a regional strategic and trading hub for vacuum gas oil and clean petroleum products for refineries located in the upper Gulf Coast region. Its facility has an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 5.6 million barrels and provides integrated terminaling services to a variety of customers, including integrated oil companies, distributors, marketers and chemical and petrochemical companies. The principal products handled at its Beaumont terminal complex are refined petroleum products, which accounted for approximately 99% of its active storage capacity as of December 31, 2011.

The Company�� storage and distribution network is integrated with the Beaumon! t/Port Ar! thur petrochemical and refining complex, and provides its customers with the additional services of mixing, blending, heating and marine vapor recovery. Its Beaumont facility handles products through a number of transportation modes, primarily through third-party pipelines interconnected to local refineries and production facilities, through its own pipeline system to Huntsman�� chemical production facility in Port Neches, and through third-party crude and refined products tankers and barges arriving at its deep-water docks. Its waterfront capabilities consist of two deep-water ship docks, allowing for the dockage of vessels with up to 130,000 dwt of cargo and vessel capacity and drafts of up to 40 feet, and two barge docks, allowing for barges with up to 20,000 dwt of cargo and barge capacity and drafts of up to 12 feet.

Operations

The Company provides integrated terminaling, storage, pipeline and related services for third-party companies engaged in the production, distribution and marketing of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas. The Company generates its revenues through the provision of fee-based services to its customers. During 2011, it generated approximately 75% of its revenues from fixed monthly fees for storage services, which its customers pay to reserve storage space in its tanks and to compensate the Company for receiving an agreed upon average periodic amount of product volume, or throughput, on their behalf.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Equities Trading DOWN
    Shares of Oiltanking Partners LP (NYSE: OILT) were down 7.23 percent to $59.79 after the company priced an offering of 2.6 million common units.

Top Transportation Stocks For 2014: Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP (EROC)

Eagle Rock Energy Partners, L.P. (Eagle Rock) is a limited partnership engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing and transporting natural gas; fractionating and transporting natural gas liquids (NGLs); crude oil logistics and marketing; natural gas marketing and trading, known as Midstream Business, and developing and producing interests in oil and natural gas properties, known as Upstream Business. On May 3, 2011, the Company acquired CC Energy II, L.L.C and outstanding membership interests of Crow Creek Energy. On May 20, 2011, it sold the Wildhorse Gathering System in its East Texas and Other Midstream Segment.

Midstream Business

The Company�� Midstream Business is located in four natural gas producing regions: the Texas Panhandle; East Texas/Louisiana; South Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2011, these working interest properties included 591 gross operated productive wells and 1,197 gross non-operated wells with net production to the Company of approximately 87.7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and proved reserves of approximately 234.0 Bcf of natural gas, 11.5 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of crude oil, and 11.3 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of natural gas liquids, of which 76% are proved developed. As of December 31, 2011, its Midstream Business consisted of Panhandle Segment and East Texas and Other Midstream Segment.

The Company�� Texas Panhandle Segment covers 10 counties in Texas and two counties in Oklahoma. Through the systems within this segment, the Company offers midstream wellhead-to-market services, including gathering, compressing, treating, processing and selling of natural gas, and fractionating and selling of NGLs. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 213 producers and 2,072 wells and central delivery points were connected to the systems in its Texas Panhandle Segment. The Texas Panhandle Segment averaged gathered volumes fo! r 2011 of approximately 155.1 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of December 2011, Chesapeake Energy and BP America Production represented 14% and 11%, respectively, of the total volumes of its Texas Panhandle Segment. The Texas Panhandle Segment consists of approximately 3,963 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines, ranging from two inches to 24 inches in diameter; seven natural gas processing plants with an aggregate capacity of 210 million cubic feet of natural gas per day; a propane fractionation facility with capacity of 1.0 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, and two condensate collection and stabilization facilities.

Eagle Rock�� systems in the East Panhandle (northern Wheeler, Hemphill and Roberts Counties, Texas) gather and process natural gas produced in the Morrow and Granite Wash reservoirs of the Anadarko basin. In the Panhandle Segment, natural gas is contracted at the wellhead primarily under percent-of proceeds (which includes percent-of-liquids) fixed recovery, percent-of-index and fee-based arrangements that range from one to five years in term. During the year endede December 31, 2011, it produced over 2,600 equity barrels per day of condensate in the Texas Panhandle Segment. During 2011, it stabilizes approximately 2,000 barrels per day combined at its Superdrip and Cargray Stabilizers.

The Company�� East Texas and Other Midstream Segment operates within the natural gas producing regions, such as East Texas/Louisiana, South Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. Through its Texas/Louisiana region, it offers producers natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transportation and NGL transportation across 21 counties in East Texas and seven parishes in West Louisiana. Its operations in the South Texas region primarily gather natural gas and recover NGLs and condensate from natural gas produced in the Frio, Vicksburg, Miocene, Canyon Sands and Wilcox formations in South Texas. Its operations in the Gulf of Mexico region are non-operated owne! rship int! erests in pipelines and onshore plants which are all located in southern Louisiana. The Gulf of Mexico region also provides producer services by arranging for the processing of producers��natural gas into third-party processing plants, known as Mezzanine Processing Services.

As of December 31, 2011, approximately 705 wells and central delivery points were connected to its systems in the East Texas and Other Midstream Segment. As of December 31, 2011, the East Texas and Other Midstream Segment provides gathering and/or marketing services to approximately 140 producers. During 2011, the East Texas and Other Midstream Segment averaged gathered volumes of approximately 319.9 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of December 31, 2011, Stone Energy Corporation and Anadarko Petroleum Company represented 18% and 9%, respectively, of the total volumes of its East Texas and Other Midstream Segment. Residue gas pipelines include Houston Pipeline Company, Natural Gas Pipeline Company, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Crosstex Energy L.P. and Southern Natural Pipeline.

Upstream Business

The Company�� Upstream Business located in four regions within the United States, such as Southern Alabama, which includes the associated gathering, processing and treating assets; Mid-Continent, which includes areas in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas Panhandle and North Texas; Permian, which includes areas in West Texas, and East/South Texas/Mississippi assets. As of December 31, 2011, these working interest properties included 591 gross operated productive wells and 1,197 gross non-operated wells with net production of approximately 87.7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and proved reserves of approximately 234.0 Bcf of natural gas, 11.5 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of crude oil, and 11.3 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of natural gas liquids, of which 76% are proved developed.

The Southern Alabama region includes the! Big Esca! mbia Creek, Flomaton and Fanny Church fields located in Escambia County, Alabama. These fields produce from either the Smackover or Norphlet formations at depths ranging from approximately 15,000 to 16,000 feet. The Big Escambia Creek field encompasses approximately 11,568 gross and 7,334 net Eagle Rock operated acres. It operates 18 productive wells with an average ownership of 60% working interest and 51% net revenue interest in the Big Escambia Creek field. The Fanny Church field is located two miles east of Big Escambia Creek. Its ownership includes approximately 1,284 gross and 999 net operated acres that include three productive operated wells with an average ownership of 86% working interest and 66% net revenue interest. The Flomaton field is adjacent to and partially underlies the Big Escambia Creek field. The field encompasses approximately 1,280 gross and 1,256 net Eagle Rock operated acres and produces from the Norphlet formation at depths from approximately 15,000 to 16,000 feet. It operates three productive wells with an approximate average 91% working interest and 78% net revenue interest. The Smackover and Norphlet reservoirs are sour, gas condensate reservoirs which produce gas and fluids containing a high percentage of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.

The Mid-Continent region consists of operated and non-operated properties across the Golden Trend Field, Cana Shale play, Verden Field, and other western Oklahoma fields located in the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma, the Mansfield Field and other various fields in the Arkoma Basin in Arkansas and Oklahoma, various fields in the Texas Panhandle, and the Barnett Shale in north Texas. Productive depths range from approximately 2,500 feet in the Arkoma fields of western Arkansas to greater than 18,000 feet in the Springer formation in certain western Oklahoma fields. Its producing field is the Golden Trend field that extends across Grady, McClain and Garvin counties in Oklahoma. It has 14,621 net acres in the Cana Shale play exte! nding acr! oss Canadian, Blaine and Dewey counties, Oklahoma. The Cana Shale produces from horizontal wells drilled to vertical depths of 11,000 - 13,000 feet and extended with horizontal lateral lengths of approximately 5,000 feet. In the total Mid-Continent region, it operate 316 productive wells and own a working interest in an additional 1,054 non-operated productive wells. The average working interest in these productive operated and non-operated wells is 83% and 9%, respectively. The net production averaged approximately 53.2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day during 2011, of which approximately 77% was produced from wells it operated.

The Permian region contains numerous fields, including Block 27, Estes Block 34, H.S.A., Heiner, Monahans N., Payton, Running W., Ward S, and Ward-Estes N. located mainly in Ward, Pecos, and Crane Counties, Texas. These fields are located in the Central Basin Platform which extends from central Lea County in New Mexico to central Pecos County in Texas and encompasses hundreds of individual fields with multiple productive intervals from the Yates-Seven Rivers-Queen through the Ellenburger formations. The Ward County fields contains two major properties, the Louis Richter and the American National Life Ins. Co. leases, and encompasses approximately 10,285 gross and 10,215 net Eagle Rock acres. It operate multiple fields consisting of stacked multi-pay horizons that produce from depths of 2,300 feet (Yates) to 9,100 feet (Pennsylvanian). The Southern Unit is located in the Running W Waddell field and produces predominantly oil at depths from approximately 5,750 to 5,900 feet. It operates approximately 5,875 net acres in this area.

The East/South Texas/Mississippi region includes the Aker, Birch, Edgewood, Eustace, Fruitvale, Ginger and Wesson fields in East Texas, the Jourdanton field in South Texas, and the Chicora W, High Road, and Stafford Springs fields in Mississippi. The East Texas fields produce primarily from the Smackover Trend at depth! s from 12! ,000 to 12,700 feet and encompass approximately 18,991 gross and 15,872 net Eagle Rock acres. It operates 32 productive wells, which produce gas that contains between approximately 30% to 69% of impurities (hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide). The Edgewood field also contains two productive gas wells in the Cotton Valley at depths of 11,500 to 11,600 feet which produce sweet natural gas. The East Texas production, with the exception of a single well, is delivered to the third party owned Eustace Plant for separation of condensate, removal of impurities, and extraction of natural gas liquids and sulfur for a combination of fees and percentage of proceeds.

In South Texas, it operates wells in the Jourdanton field in Atascosa County, Texas. It operates nine productive wells with 100% working interest and 88% net revenue interest. Its production from the field is primarily from the Edwards carbonates (7,300 to 7,400 feet). On December 31, 2011, the Company had under operation 290 gross (261 net) productive oil wells and 301 gross (251 net) productive natural gas wells. On December 31, 2011, Eagle Rock owned non-operated working interests in an additional 148 gross (18 net) productive oil wells and 1049 gross (72 net) productive natural gas wells.

The Company competes with DCP Midstream, LLC and Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P., Crosstex Energy, L.P., Energy Transfer Partners, LP and Enterprise Products Partners, L.P.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Matt DiLallo]

    Investors face quite the dilemma when choosing which way to play the explosive growth of oil and gas production. Some choose to invest in the upside of the commodities by investing directly in an oil and gas producer. Others want the security of midstream cash flows and instead choose to invest in the MLP sector. That means that investors seeking a little bit of exposure to both plays need to invest in two separate companies. Unless, of course, they've invested in�Eagle Rock Energy Partners� (NASDAQ: EROC  ) .

  • [By Matt DiLallo]

    I recently took a brief look at one of the more unique MLPs, Eagle Rock Energy Partners (NASDAQ: EROC  ) . What makes this company unique is that it's a blend of both traditional midstream MLP assets and oil and gas production assets. Today, I want to take a closer look at those oil and gas production assets, which I think provide investors with a lot of upside potential.

Top Transportation Stocks For 2014: Norfolk Souther Corporation(NSC)

Norfolk Southern Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods primarily in the United States. The company transports coal products, such as coal, coke, and iron ore; automotive products, including finished vehicles and auto parts; chemicals products consisting of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, and municipal wastes; metals and construction products comprising steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, bricks, and minerals; and paper, clay, and forest products, including lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, scrap paper, and clay. It also transports agriculture, consumer, and government products, such as soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizer, animal and poultry feed, food oils, flour, beverages, canned goods, swee teners, consumer products, ethanol, and items for the military. In addition, it engages in the intermodal operations that include moving of shipments in trailers, the United States and international containers, and roadrailer equipment. Further, the company transports overseas freight through various Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports, as well as provides a range of logistics services; and operates passenger and commuter trains. Additionally, it involves in the acquisition, leasing, and management of coal, oil, gas, and minerals; the development of commercial real estate; telecommunications; and the leasing or sale of rail property and equipment. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia. The company was founded in 1883 and is based in Norfolk, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    But CSX has responded to the coal crisis in a couple of ways. First, both it and fellow coal-focused railroad Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC  ) have ramped up their efforts to export coal, as countries such as China and India remain hungry for low-cost-energy alternatives. Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) has a natural advantage in supplying Asia because of its deposits in Australia, allowing it to send coal to India and China more cheaply than its peers, especially those with extensive deposits in the eastern half of the U.S. But even eastern producers have managed to boost their exports considerably, and that's helping the railroads that serve coal companies.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Shares of railroad giant Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC  ) have performed extremely well lately, climbing toward all-time record highs as investors get more confident about the railroad industry's future. In particular, even though Norfolk Southern has more exposure to some of the toughest segments in the railroad sector than peers like Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  ) , its most recent earnings report showed just how well the company is adapting to changing conditions.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 1,844.86, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 16,373.34. The Dow was dragged down by International Business Machines (IBM) and Caterpillar (CAT), while the S&P 500 got a lift from Textron (TXT), Best Buy (BBY) and Norfolk Southern (NSC).

Top Transportation Stocks For 2014: Access Midstream Partners LP (ACMP)

Access Midstream Partners, L.P., formerly Chesapeake Midstream Partners, L.L.C. (Partnership), incorporated on January 21, 2010, owns, operates, develops and acquires natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil gathering systems and other midstream energy assets. The Company is focused on natural gas and NGL gathering. The Company provides its midstream services to Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Chesapeake), Total E&P USA, Inc. (Total), Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui), Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko), Statoil ASA (Statoil) and other producers under long-term, fixed-fee contracts. On December 20, 2012, the Company acquired from Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P. (CMD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake, and certain of CMD's affiliates, 100% of interests in Chesapeake Midstream Operating, L.L.C. (CMO). As a result of the CMO Acquisition, the Partnership owns certain midstream assets in the Eagle Ford, Utica and Niobrara regions. The CMO Acquisition also extended the Company's assets and operations in the Haynesville, Marcellus and Mid-Continent regions.

The Company operates assets in Barnett Shale region in north-central Texas; Eagle Ford Shale region in South Texas; Haynesville Shale region in northwest Louisiana; Marcellus Shale region in Pennsylvania and West Virginia; Niobrara Shale region in eastern Wyoming; Utica Shale region in eastern Ohio, and Mid-Continent region, which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, Delaware and Permian Basins. The Company's gathering systems collect natural gas and NGLs from unconventional plays. The Company generates its revenues through long-term, fixed-fee gas gathering, treating and compression contracts and through processing contracts.

Barnett Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in its Barnett Shale region are located in Tarrant, Johnson and Dallas counties in Texas in the Core and Tier 1 areas of the Barnett Shale and consist of 25 interconnected gathering systems and 850 miles of pipeline. During the year! ended December 31, 2012, average throughput on the Company's Barnett Shale gathering system was 1.195 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to receipt points that are either at the individual wellhead or at central receipts points into which production from multiple wells are gathered. The Company's Barnett Shale gathering system is connected to the three downstream transportation pipelines: Atmos Pipeline Texas, Energy Transfer Pipeline Texas and Enterprise Texas Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Atmos Pipeline Texas pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and south, east and west Texas markets at the Katy, Carthage and Waha hubs. Natural gas delivered into Energy Transfer Pipeline Texas pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and southeastern and northeastern the United States markets supplied by the Midcontinent Express Pipeline, Centerpoint CP Expansion Pipeline and Gulf South 42-inch Expansion Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Enterprise Texas Pipeline pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and southeastern and northeastern the United States markets supplied by the Gulf Crossing Pipeline.

Eagle Ford Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in its Eagle Ford Shale region are located in Dimmit, La Salle, Frio, Zavala, McMullen and Webb counties in Texas and consist of 10 gathering systems and 618 miles of pipeline. During 2012, gross throughput for these assets was 0.169 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered. The Company's Eagle Ford gathering systems are connected to six downstream transportation pipelines, which include Enterprise, Camino Real, West Texas Gas, Regency Gas Service, Eagle Ford Gathering and Enerfin. The Company processes gas at Yoakum or other Enterprise plants and transports residue to Wharton residue header w! ith conne! ctions to numerous interstate pipelines.

Haynesville Shale Region

The Company's Springridge gas gathering system in the Haynesville Shale region is located in Caddo and DeSoto Parishes, Louisiana, in one of the core areas of the Haynesville Shale and consists of 263 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's Springridge gathering system was 0.359 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering system to receipt points that are at central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered. The Company's Springridge gathering system is connected to three downstream transportation pipelines: Centerpoint Energy Gas Transmission, ETC Tiger Pipeline and Texas Gas Transmission Pipeline. The Company's Mansfield gas gathering system in the Haynesville Shale region is located in DeSoto and Sabine Parishes, Louisiana, in one of the areas of the Haynesville Shale and, as of December 31, 2012, consist of 304 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's Mansfield gathering system was 0.720 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering system to receipt points that are at central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered and treated. The Company's Mansfield gathering system is connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Enterprise Accadian Pipeline and Gulf South Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Enterprise Accadian pipeline can move to on-system markets in the Midwest and to off-system markets in the Northeast through interconnections with third-party pipelines. Natural gas delivered into Gulf South pipeline can move to on-system markets in the Midwest and to off-system markets in the Northeast through interconnections with third-party pipelines.

Marcellus Shale Region

Through Appalachia Midstream, the Company operates 100% of and own an approximate average 47% interests in 10 gas gathering systems that consist of approximately 5! 49 miles ! of gathering pipeline in the Marcellus Shale region. The Company's volumes in the region are gathered from northern Pennsylvania, southwestern Pennsylvania and the northwestern panhandle of West Virginia, in core areas of the Marcellus Shale. The Company operates these smaller systems in northeast and central West Virginia, southeast Pennsylvania, northwest Maryland, north central Virginia, and south central New York. During 2012, gross throughput for Appalachia Midstream assets was just over 1.8 billion cubic feet per day. The Company's Marcellus gathering systems' delivery points include Caiman Energy, Central New York Oil & Gas, Columbia Gas Transmission, MarkWest, NiSource Midstream, PVR and Tennessee Gas Pipeline. Natural gas is delivered into a 16-inch pipeline and delivered to the Caiman Energy Fort Beeler processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the gas stream. The natural gas is then delivered into the TETCo interstate pipeline for ultimate delivery to the Northeast region of the United States. Natural gas delivered into Central New York Oil & Gas 30-inch diameter pipeline can be delivered to Stagecoach Storage, Millennium Pipeline, or Tennessee Gas Pipeline's Line 300. In Columbia Gas Transmission lean natural gas is delivered into two 36-inch interstate pipelines for delivery to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the United States. Natural gas is delivered into a MarkWest pipeline for delivery to the MarkWest Houston processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the gas stream. In NiSource Midstream natural gas is delivered into a 20-inch diameter pipeline and delivered to the MarkWest Majorsville processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the rich gas stream. In PVR natural gas is delivered into the 24-inch diameter Wyoming pipeline and the Hirkey Compressor Station. In Tennessee Gas Pipeline natural gas is delivered into this looped 30-inch diameter pipeline (TGP Line 300) at three different locations can be received in the Northeast at points along th! e 300 Lin! e path, interconnections with other pipelines in northern New Jersey, as well as an existing delivery point in White Plains, New York.

Niobrara Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in the Niobrara Shale region are located in Converse County, Wyoming and consist of two interconnected gathering systems and 79 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput in the Company's Niobrara Shale region was 0.013 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to receipt points,which are either at the individual wellhead or at central receipts points into which production from multiple wells are gathered. The Company's Niobrara gathering systems are connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Tallgrass/Douglas Pipeline and North Finn/DCP Inlet Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Tallgrass/Douglas pipeline is sent to the Tallgrass processing facility; after processing, natural gas is delivered to Cheyenne Hub, Rockies Express Pipeline, or Trailblazer Pipeline through Tallgrass Interstate Gas Transmission.

Utica Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in the Utica Shale region are located in northeast Ohio and consist of 67 miles of pipeline. The Company's Utica gathering systems are connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Dominion East Ohio (Blue Racer) and Dominion Transmission, Inc.

Mid-Continent Region

The Company's Mid-Continent gathering systems extend across portions of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas. Included in the Company's Mid-Continent region are three treating facilities located in Beckham and Grady Counties, Oklahoma, and Reeves County, Texas, which are designed to remove contaminants from the natural gas stream.

Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma

The Company's assets within the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma are located in northwestern Oklahoma and the northeastern portion of the Texas Panhandle and consist of appro! ximately ! 1,578 miles of pipeline. During 2012, the Company's Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma region gathering systems had an average throughput of 0.457 billion cubic feet per day. Within the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma, the Company is focused on servicing Chesapeake's production from the Colony Granite Wash, Texas Panhandle Granite Wash and Mississippi Lime plays. Natural gas production from these areas of the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma contains NGLs. In addition, the Company operates an amine treater with sulfur removal capabilities at its Mayfield facility in Beckham County, Oklahoma. The Company's Mayfield gathering and treating system gathers Deep Springer natural gas production and treats the natural gas to remove carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide to meet the specifications of downstream transportation pipelines.

The Company's Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma systems are connected to a transportation pipelines transporting natural gas out of the region, including pipelines owned by Enbridge and Atlas Pipelines, as well as local market pipelines such as those owned by Enogex. These pipelines provide access to Midwest and northeastern the United States markets, as well as intrastate markets.

Permian Basin

The Company's Permian Basin assets are located in west Texas and consist of approximately 358 miles of pipeline across the Permian and Delaware basins. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's gathering systems was 0.076 billion cubic feet per day. The Company's Permian Basin gathering systems are connected to pipelines in the area owned by Southern Union, Enterprise, West Texas Gas, CDP Midstream and Regency. Natural gas delivered into these transportation pipelines is re-delivered into the Waha hub and El Paso Gas Transmission. The Waha hub serves the Texas intrastate electric power plants and heating market, as well as the Houston Ship Channel chemical and refining markets. El Paso Gas Transmission serves western the United ! States ma! rkets.

Other Mid-Continent Regions

The Company's other Mid-Continent region assets consist of systems in the Ardmore Basin in Oklahoma, the Arkoma Basin in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas and the East Texas and Gulf Coast regions of Texas. The other Mid-Continent assets include approximately 648 miles of pipeline. These gathering systems are localized systems gathering specific production for re-delivery into established pipeline markets. During 2012, average throughput on these gathering systems was 0.031 billion cubic feet per day.

The Company competes with Energy Transfer Partners, Crosstex Energy, Crestwood Midstream Partners, Freedom Pipeline, Peregrine Pipeline, XTO Energy, EOG Resources, DFW Mid-Stream, Enbridge Energy Partners, DCP Midstream, Enterprise Products Partners Inc., Regency Energy Partners, Texstar Midstream Operating, West Texas Gas Inc., TGGT Holdings, Kinderhawk Field Services, CenterPoint Field Services, Williams Partners, Penn Virginia Resource Partners, Caiman Energy, MarkWest Energy Partners, Kinder Morgan, Dominion Transmission (Blue Racer), Enogex and Atlas Pipeline Partners.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Rapier]

    That�� the neat trick�Williams�(NYSE: WMB) pulled off today in converting its equity investment in�Access Midstream Partners�(NYSE: ACMP) into full control that will allow it to use ACMP�� surplus �cash flow to offset the deficit at its fully sponsored�Williams Partners�(NYSE: WPZ) MLP, which is to be folded into Access. Williams shareholders get stepped up dividend growth and strategic control of valuable assets.

  • [By Robert Rapier]

    Access Midstream Partners (NYSE: ACMP) is the successor to Chesapeake Midstream, after it bought Chesapeake Energy’s (NYSE: CHK) midstream assets. At the same time Williams (NYSE: WMB) acquired a 50 percent stake in Access Midstream’s general partner from the master limited partnership’s private equity sponsor. ACMP is now one of the largest midstream companies in the US with gathering pipelines and facilities in the Barnett, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Marcellus, Niobrara and Utica shales, and elsewhere in the Mid-Continent.

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