DALLAS, Jul 25, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

The Crosstex Energy companies, Crosstex Energy, L.P. (NASDAQ:XTEX) (the Partnership) and Crosstex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:XTXI) (the Corporation), today announced that the Partnership is completing engineering studies, pipeline routing work and environmental permitting for a natural gas liquids (NGL) project that will expand Crosstex's Louisiana fractionation facilities and expand access to these facilities and Louisiana product markets through a new NGL pipeline. The new pipeline will be an extension of the Partnership's 440-mile Cajun-Sibon NGL pipeline that is connected to the Partnership's Eunice NGL fractionation facilities in south central Louisiana. The new 130-mile, 12-inch-diameter NGL pipeline extension will connect the Eunice fractionation facilities to Mont Belvieu supply pipelines and will have an initial capacity of 70,000 barrels per day of raw-make NGLs. The project also includes the expansion of the Partnership's Eunice NGL fractionation facilities from 15,000 barrels to 55,000 barrels of NGL per day, which will increase the Partnership's interconnected fractionation capacity in Louisiana to approximately 97,000 barrels per day of NGLs. The Partnership's investment for the project is currently estimated at $180 million to $220 million.

The Partnership has entered into a long-term ethane sales agreement with Williams Olefins, LLC, a subsidiary of the Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB), providing a secure market for the key product in the project. The ethane will flow into Williams' ethane pipeline system in Louisiana. In addition, the Partnership has its own supply from its Texas gas plants and commitments for supply from a select group of NGL suppliers. The Partnership is negotiating additional long-term commitments for the new system expansion, which will provide producers and other midstream companies with an attractive alternative market for their NGL production at Mont Belvieu pricing.

"This is an exciting opportunity for Crosstex and gives us a tremendous growth platform as we expand our integrated NGL system and optimize our assets," said Barry E. Davis, Crosstex President and Chief Executive Officer. "There is increasing demand for fractionation and NGL handling as producers pursue the development of liquids-rich natural gas shale plays. We will be able to offer our midstream and producer customers an integrated NGL transportation, fractionation and marketing alternative to Mont Belvieu. We will also improve the reliability and diversity of NGL supply to the Louisiana petrochemical and refinery markets, which have been negatively impacted by declining supply from the Gulf Coast."

The new NGL pipeline extension will originate from interconnections with major Mont Belvieu supply pipelines, providing connections for NGLs from the Permian Basin, Midcontinent, Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford Shale and Rocky Mountain areas to the Partnership's NGL fractionation facilities in South Louisiana. In addition to an attractive ethane market, the Partnership's facilities in South Louisiana provide access to markets for the remaining components of the NGL barrel.

Construction of the new NGL pipeline extension is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2012, and the facilities are expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2013.

About the Crosstex Energy Companies

Crosstex Energy, L.P., a midstream natural gas company headquartered in Dallas, operates approximately 3,300 miles of pipeline, nine processing plants and three fractionators. The Partnership currently provides services for 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, or approximately six percent of marketed U.S. daily production.

Crosstex Energy, Inc. owns the two percent general partner interest, a 25percent limited partner interest and the incentive distribution rights of Crosstex Energy, L.P.

Additional information about the Crosstex companies can be found at www.crosstexenergy.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are based on certain assumptions made by the Partnership and the Corporation based upon management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors the Partnership and the Corporation believe are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to forecasts regarding capacity, cash flow, incremental investment and timing for becoming operational for the projects discussed above, as well as the Partnership's future growth and results of operations. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Partnership and the Corporation, which may cause the Partnership's and the Corporation's actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks discussed in the Partnership's and the Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Partnership and the Corporation have no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE: Crosstex Energy

Crosstex Energy
Jill McMillan, 214-721-9271
Director, Public & Industry Affairs
Jill.McMillan@CrosstexEnergy.com