Columbia Pipeline Group Announces Williams Partners Affiliate to Join Pennant Midstream Joint Venture

HOUSTON, Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc. (NYSE: CPGX) ("CPG") and Columbia Pipeline Partners LP (NYSE: CPPL) (together, "Columbia"), today announced that Three Rivers Midstream LLC, an affiliate of Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) ("Williams Partners"), has become a member of Pennant Midstream, LLC ("Pennant"), a joint venture between affiliates of Columbia Midstream Group, LLC (an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of CPG), and Harvest Pipeline Company.

"We are pleased to add Three Rivers Midstream as a high-quality partner to this joint venture," said Columbia Pipeline Group President Glen Kettering, noting that the combination is expected to significantly increase Pennant's long-term infrastructure investment opportunities. "Pennant leverages our extensive asset base and operating experience in the Utica Shale region to create near-term value, as well as long-term sustainable growth for our customers and shareholders."

The executed agreement nearly triples the acreage dedicated to Pennant to approximately 500,000 acres and results in the addition of investment-grade producers, positioning Pennant to be a leading long-term midstream services provider in the Mahoning Valley. 

Williams Partners' initial ownership investment in Pennant is 5 percent, and by funding specified, disproportionate investment amounts for future growth projects, Williams Partners can invest directly in the growth of the joint venture. Such funding will potentially increase Williams Partners' Pennant ownership up to 33.33 percent over a defined investment period.

"Three Rivers is a logical partner for Pennant," said Brett Stovern, Pennant President. "The company's extensive commercial and operations knowledge in the Appalachian Basin will further increase our leadership position over our Utica footprint. With strong processing, gathering and transport infrastructure in place, and the ability to significantly expand and leverage our asset position, we look forward to supporting further shale production in the Mahoning Valley."

Pennant owns the Hickory Bend processing plant and related gathering systems in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The approximately $400 million investment includes:

• Approximately 41 miles of 12-, 20- and 24-inch wet gas field-gathering and high-pressure pipeline facilities;
• The Hickory Bend cryogenic natural gas processing plant in New Middletown, Ohio;
• A residue pipeline with current deliveries to Dominion East Ohio and Kinder Morgan's Tennessee Gas Pipeline;
•  An approximately 38-mile NGL pipeline from the Hickory Bend processing plant to Utica East Ohio's Kensington Plant in Columbiana County, Ohio.

"The Hickory Bend system demonstrates many characteristics of infrastructure we want in our portfolio – new, large-scale, easily expandable and, importantly, highly efficient when it comes to NGL recovery and fuel consumption," said Jim Scheel, Williams Partners Senior Vice President, Northeast G&P. "Additionally, by leveraging Pennant's existing gathering and processing facilities we're able to serve customers in this area in a timelier manner than if we built our own facilities."

About Williams Partners L.P.
Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) is an industry-leading, large-cap natural gas infrastructure master limited partnership with a strong growth outlook and major positions in key U.S. supply basins and also in Canada. Williams Partners has operations across the natural gas value chain from gathering, processing and interstate transportation of natural gas and natural gas liquids to petchem production of ethylene, propylene and other olefins. Williams Partners owns and operates more than 33,000 miles of pipelines system wide – including the nation's largest volume and fastest growing pipeline – providing natural gas for clean-power generation, heating and industrial use. Williams Partners' operations touch approximately 30 percent of U.S. natural gas. Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams (NYSE: WMB), a premier provider of large-scale North American natural gas infrastructure, owns 60 percent of Williams Partners, including all of the 2 percent general-partner interest. www.williams.com

About Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc.
Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc. operates approximately 15,000 miles of strategically located interstate pipeline, gathering and processing assets extending from New York to the Gulf of Mexico, including an extensive footprint in the Marcellus and Utica Shale production areas. Columbia Pipeline Group also operates one of the nation's largest underground natural gas storage systems. Columbia Pipeline Group is listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CPGX. Additional information can be found at www.cpg.com.

About Columbia Pipeline Partners LP
Columbia Pipeline Partners LP, based in Houston, Texas, is a fee-based, growth-oriented master limited partnership formed to own, operate and develop a growing portfolio of natural gas pipelines, storage and related midstream assets.

Columbia Pipeline Partners' business and operations are conducted through CPG OpCo LP and its subsidiaries, which own and operate substantially all of the natural gas transmission, storage and midstream assets of Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc. Columbia Pipeline Group operates approximately 15,000 miles of strategically located interstate pipelines extending from New York to the Gulf of Mexico, one of the nation's largest underground natural gas storage systems, and a growing portfolio of related gathering and processing assets. The majority of its assets overlay the Marcellus and Utica Shale production areas. Additional information can be found at www.columbiapipelinepartners.com or www.cpg.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). These statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Columbia and its management. Although Columbia believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its goals will be achieved. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, including required approvals by regulatory agencies, the possibility that the anticipated benefits from such activities, events, developments or transactions cannot be fully realized, the possibility that costs or difficulties related thereto will be greater than expected, the impact of competition, and other risk factors included in Columbia's (or its affiliates') reports filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Columbia expressly disclaims any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements contained in this release.

SOURCE Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc.

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