DCP Midstream to buy, expand Conoco’s Seaway Products Pipeline Co.

DCP Midstream Partners LP said it would buy Seaway Products Pipeline Co. from ConocoPhillips, convert it for natural gas liquids and then expand it, for a total investment valued at $750 million to $850 million. DCP Chairman and Chief Executive Tom O’Connor said the project was “a game changer” for mid-continent U.S. natural-gas-liquid values and a “critical piece of the midstream infrastructure puzzle.” He said it would increase the value producers realize for production in the region “through enhanced connectivity to premium Gulf Coast markets.” The company will convert the current 580-mile pipeline to ferry natural gas liquids and extend it to 700 miles between two major gas-liquids market hubs in Kansas and Texas. DCP plans to rename it Southern Hills Pipeline. DCP also said it expects to announce a request for a non-binding expression of interest in the pipeline from shippers later this year.