HOUSTON, Dec. 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LINN Energy, Inc. (OTCQB:LNGG) (“LINN” or the “Company”) announces today its wholly owned subsidiary, Blue Mountain Midstream LLC (“Blue Mountain”), has reached an agreement with Gaedeke Merge, LP (“Gaedeke”) to dedicate approximately 7,200 acres in the Merge to Blue Mountain’s Chisholm Trail midstream business (“Chisholm Trail”).
The dedicated acreage is located in a 13 township area in Grady and Canadian counties, Oklahoma. The agreement dedicates all current and future natural gas production from the acreage to Chisholm Trail for a primary term of 10 years. The Company anticipates that it will receive the first volumes from this third-party agreement in the first quarter of 2018 and also expects this agreement to add 10 new wells to the Chisholm Trail system in 2018.
“The agreement with Gaedeke increases our dedicated acreage by approximately 10% and aligns with our goal of accelerating the growth of our valuable midstream business in the Merge. With more than 80,000 net acres in the core of the Merge now dedicated to Chisholm Trail and our new 250 MMcf/d cryogenic plant being commissioned in the second quarter of 2018, we believe Blue Mountain is well-positioned to succeed as a standalone midstream company. We expect this agreement to accelerate our timeline to reach full capacity at the plant and also to accelerate the construction of the gathering system within the footprint of the core development area for Roan Resources in the Merge. We will continue to pursue additional third-party dedications to further expand our footprint as we begin 2018,” said Mark E. Ellis, President and Chief Executive Officer.
As previously announced, the Board has commenced a review of strategic alternatives for Blue Mountain which include, among other things, hiring a separate management team, establishing an independent capital structure, pursuing independent third party acreage dedication and exploring potential strategic investments and/or a separate public listing independent from LNGG.
Chisholm Trail is a gas gathering, compression and processing system located in the heart of the prolific liquids-rich Merge/SCOOP/STACK play in Oklahoma. It has ~30 miles of existing gas gathering pipeline, a 60 MMcf/d refrigeration facility and has access to offload an additional 20 MMcf/d. Construction is underway on a highly efficient, state-of-the-art cryogenic gas processing system with a total capacity of 250 MMcf/d which is expected to be commissioned during the second quarter of 2018.
ABOUT LINN ENERGY
LINN Energy, Inc. was formed in February 2017 as the reorganized successor to LINN Energy, LLC. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the Company’s current focus is the development of the Merge/SCOOP/STACK in Oklahoma through its equity interest in Roan Resources LLC, as well as through its midstream operations in that area. Additionally, the Company is pursuing emerging horizontal opportunities in Oklahoma, North Louisiana and East Texas, while continuing to add value by efficiently operating and applying new technology to a diverse set of long-life producing assets.
ABOUT BLUE MOUNTAIN MIDSTREAM
Blue Mountain Midstream LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of LINN Energy, Inc. and its assets include the Chisholm Trail midstream business in central Oklahoma and the Jayhawk Natural Gas Processing Plant in southwest Kansas. Chisholm Trail is located in the heart of the prolific liquids-rich Merge/SCOOP/STACK play and it provides natural gas gathering, compression and processing to multiple producers. The Jayhawk Plant is located in the Hugoton basin and has total natural gas processing capacity of approximately 450 MMcf/d.
CONTACT:
Thomas Belsha, Vice President — Investor Relations & Corporate Development
LINN Energy, Inc.
(281) 840-4110
ir@linnenergy.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements.” These statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations made by the Company which reflect management’s experience, estimates and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and anticipated future developments. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or anticipated in the forward-looking statements. These include risks relating to financial performance and results, ability to improve our financial results and profitability following emergence from bankruptcy, ability to list our common stock on an established securities market, availability of sufficient cash flow to execute our business plan, ability to execute planned asset sales, ability to execute on planned construction and development related to the Chisolm Trail Midstream business, continued low or further declining commodity prices and demand for oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, ability to hedge future production, ability to replace reserves and efficiently develop current reserves and the regulatory environment. These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Please read “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other public filings. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events.