Just because a company is young, doesn't mean it can't make a meaningful impact in helping fuel the U.S., said the co-founder of TEAK Midstream LLC. Speaking at Hart Energy's DUG Eagle Ford conference, Chris Aulds said TEAK is poised to become an invaluable player in the shale play.

The Dallas-based start-up was co-founded in 2009 by Aulds and Jim Wales. Today, TEAK owns hundreds of miles of pipeline and a "state-of-the-art," treating and gathering system.

"Don't judge TEAK Midstream by how short of a time we've been in business," Aulds told conference attendees. "What I would ask you to do is to judge us on what we've been able to accomplish in a very short period of time, and what we plan on building in the future to help producers get their natural gas liquids and natural gas to market."

The company provides reliable midstream services to producers. It offers gathering, treating, processing, compression and marketing services for natural gas and NGLs.

TEAK recently completed a $295 million construction project that includes about 250 miles of gas gathering and residue delivery pipeline, as well as a 200 MMcf per day cryogenic processing plant in South Texas. The undertaking is part of long term firm gathering and processing agreements with Talisman Energy USA Inc. and Statoil Natural Gas LLC. Aulds said during his October 15 presentation that the company planned to have its project and facilities running within weeks.

TEAK has ordered a second 200 MMcf per day plant, which will likely be in service in December 2013.

The project includes two high-pressure gas gathering systems. The larger includes over 130 miles of 24-inch and 45 miles of 16-inch pipeline. This system will run through Bee, Live Oak, McMullen, La Salle, Webb and Dimmit counties and will be able to move over 500 MMcf per day of production to TEAK's Silver Oak gas processing plant in Bee County, Texas. TEAK will own this segment jointly with TexStar Midstream Services LLC. The smaller, 20-mile pipeline system will move rich gas from Karnes County to the new plant. That 20-inch-diameter pipeline will be owned by TEAK and will originate on acreage owned by Talisman and Statoil.

The Silver Oak plant near Pettus has been designed specifically to process the liquids-rich Eagle Ford gas, which will allow TEAK to maximize the amount of NGLs that are recovered from the gas streams of producers.

TEAK initially entered the area through the acquisition of the Texana Pipeline Co. in July 2010. Texana had been operating in the area since 2007, when the Eagle Ford wasn't yet in full swing. At that time, most producers were still drilling for conventional oil and gas formations, and the Eagle Ford had yet to prove itself as a shale play.

Though it's just a few years old, TEAK believes there are a number of factors working to its advantage in the Eagle Ford. Aulds says the company is strategically located with both short-and long-term capacity. TEAK also has high NGL recoveries, coupled with ethane rejection capability and high propane-plus recovery, says Aulds.

And TEAK's cofounders lack up for the company's youth by bringing decades of industry experience to the table, he adds.

"If there's one thing we've learned being in this business 30 years, the producers are not going to wait for a midstream company. You have to be responsive and you have to move quickly, or they are not going to sit around and wait. They're going to make commitments to others. "We're fortunate to have a great team, great skill-set and great experience that we feel like we can move as quickly, if not faster, than the producers that we're providing services to."

Comments