ONEOK investing to increase gas processing capacity

Oklahoma-based energy company ONEOK Partners said its multimillion investment in the state will boost gas processing capacity to 900 million cubic feet per day.

The company said it plans to spend as much as $470 million between now and 2016 to build its Knox plant in Oklahoma. The plant will be designed to process 200 million cubic feet of gas per day from the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province, known by its initials SCOOP.

"The Knox plant in Oklahoma will increase our presence in the growing SCOOP play and increase our Oklahoma natural gas processing capacity to approximately 900 million cubic feet per day," President and Chief Executive Officer Terry Spencer said in a statement Thursday.

SCOOP lies in part of the Woodford shale that spreads out over southern part of the state. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates Woodford holds as much as 22.2 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas reserves.

The announcement came on the same day the company increased quarterly cash distribution by 2 percent per share.

"Completed natural gas and natural gas liquids projects from our previously announced $6.0 billion to $6.4 billion capital-growth program continue to enable us to increase distribution payments to our unitholders," Spencer said.