MarkWest Energy Partners Expands Operations in Granite Wash with Commencement of Buffalo Creek Processing Facility

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. MWE (“MarkWest”) (the “Partnership”) announced today the completion of the 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) Buffalo Creek cryogenic gas processing plant and associated high pressure trunk line in the Granite Wash. The Buffalo Creek facility is supported by long-term fee-based agreements with Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK (“Chesapeake”). As part of the gas processing agreement with MarkWest, Chesapeake dedicated approximately 130,000 acres throughout the Anadarko Basin.

The completion of the Buffalo Creek plant increases the Partnership's total processing capacity in the Anadarko Basin to 435 MMcf/d at two major complexes. The 200 MMcf/d Buffalo Creek facility and the 235 MMcf/d Arapahoe processing complex in Western Oklahoma are connected through the Partnership's extensive rich-gas gathering system, which provides 575 MMcf/d of gathering throughput capacity and tremendous flexibility and reliability. MarkWest's infrastructure also provides producers with multiple residue gas outlets and access to natural gas liquids takeaway pipelines to Mt. Belvieu and Conway. MarkWest anticipates volumes at the new plant to ramp quickly as Chesapeake has approximately 100 MMcf/d of existing production that the Partnership has begun to process. Chesapeake has an active drilling program throughout the area and MarkWest will continue supporting their development plans.

“The completion of the Buffalo Creek plant is critical to our ongoing support of Chesapeake's successful development of their Granite Wash acreage,” stated Frank Semple, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of MarkWest. “This new 200 million cubic feet per day processing plant and the associated gathering and compression facilities will further expand MarkWest's significant midstream presence in the Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma.”

MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. is a master limited partnership engaged in the gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas; the gathering, transportation, fractionation, storage and marketing of natural gas liquids; and the gathering and transportation of crude oil. MarkWest has a leading presence in many unconventional gas plays including the Marcellus Shale, Utica Shale, Huron/Berea Shale, Haynesville Shale, Woodford Shale and Granite Wash formation.

This press release includes “forward-looking statements.” All statements other than statements of historical facts included or incorporated herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary significantly from those expressed or implied in such statements and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Although MarkWest believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, MarkWest can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that affect operations, financial performance, and other factors as discussed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Among the factors that could cause results to differ materially are those risks discussed in the periodic reports filed with the SEC, including MarkWest's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013. You are urged to carefully review and consider the cautionary statements and other disclosures made in those filings, specifically those under the heading “Risk Factors.” MarkWest does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statement except as required by law.