Top Gas Stocks To Own For 2014

Stocks are surging this morning after the Republican Party took control of Congress yesterday.

Bloomberg

S&P 500 futures have gained 0.6%, while Dow Jones industrial Average futures have risen 0.5%. Nasdaq Composite futures have advanced 0.6%.

Midstates Petroleum (MPO) has surged 21% to $3.46 after the independent E&P company easily topped analyst earnings forecasts.

Jamba (JMBA) has tumbled 9% to $11.74 after the juice store missed the Street’s earnings and revenue expectations. Jamba also announced a $25 million share buyback program.

EOG Resources (EOG) has jumped 5.3% to $59.05 after the oil & gas company beat earnings and revenue forecasts and upped its full-year production outlook.�Devon Energy (DVN), meanwhile, has gained 3.5% to $58 after the independent energy exploration & production company also surprised to the upside and boosted its production guidance.

Top 5 Machinery Stocks To Invest In 2015: Groundstar Resources Ltd (GSA)

Groundstar Resources Limited (Groundstar) is a development-stage oil and gas company. The Company is engaged in exploration, development and production opportunities in international areas of interest. Through its subsidiaries, the Company�� primary operations are related to its interests in a production sharing contract in Kurdistan (Iraq), concession agreements in Egypt and a petroleum prospecting license in Guyana. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damian Illia]

  The company�� revenues come from the fees charged for operating different domain names. Most domain names��fees are charged as per agreement terms with ICANN; however, fees received for operating the .gov registry are based on the terms of agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). As of September 2013, revenues of $125.9 million came from active domain names ending with .com and .net. Even though the company has presence all over the globe, the U.S. contributes 64.8% of revenues, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) contribute 15.5%, Australia, China, India and other Asia Pacific countries (APAC), 15.0%, and other countries such as Canada or Latin American countries, contribute 4.7%. Competition is increasing, especially with Latin script ccTLD registries and IDN ccTLD registries, as well as with other name service providers such as Neustar Inc. (NSR) or ARI Registry Services, and search engine providers such as Google Inc. (GOOG) Microsoft, Corp. (MSFT).

Top Gas Stocks To Own For 2014: PBF Energy Inc (PBF)

PBF Energy Inc. (PBF Energy), incorporated on November 7, 2011, is an independent petroleum refiners and suppliers of unbranded transportation fuels, heating oils, petrochemical feedstocks, lubricants and other petroleum products in the United States. The Company produces a range of products at each of its refineries, including gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), heating oil, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemicals and asphalt. The Company sells its products throughout the Northeast and Midwest of the United States, as well as in other regions of the United States and Canada, and are able to ship products to other international destinations. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned and operated three domestic oil refineries and related assets. The Company's refineries have a combined processing capacity of approximately 540,000 thousand barrels per day. The Company's three refineries are located in Toledo, Ohio, Delaware City, Delaware and Paulsboro, New Jersey.

The Company's Midcontinent refinery at Toledo processes light, sweet crude, has a throughput capacity of 170,000 thousand barrels per day and a Nelson Complexity Index of 9.2. Toledo's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) based crude is delivered through pipelines, which originate in both Canada and the United States. The Company's East Coast refineries at Delaware City and Paulsboro have a combined refining capacity of 370,000 thousand barrels per day and Nelson Complexity Indices of 11.3 and 13.2, respectively. These refineries process medium and heavy and sour crudes.

Delaware City Refinery

The Delaware City refinery is located on a 5,000-acre site, with access to waterborne cargoes and a distribution network of pipelines, barges and tankers, truck and rail. Delaware City is a fully integrated operation, which receives crude through rail at the crude unloading facility, or ship or barge at its docks located on the Delaware River. The crude and other feedstocks are transported, through pipes, to a tank! farm where they are stored until processing. In addition, there is a 17-bay, 50,000 thousand barrels per day capacity truck loading rack located adjacent to the refinery and a 23-mile interstate pipeline that are used to distribute clean products.

The Delaware City refinery has a throughput capacity of 190,000 thousand barrels per day and a Nelson Complexity Index of 11.3. The Delaware City refinery processes a range of medium to heavy, sour crude oils. The refinery has conversion capacity with its 82,000 thousand barrels per day fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, 47,000 thousand barrels per day fluid coking unit (FCU) and 18,000 thousand barrels per day hydro cracking unit with vacuum distillation. Hydrogen is provided through the refinery's steam methane reformer and continuous catalytic reformer. The Delaware City refinery has total storage capacity of approximately 10 million barrels.

Paulsboro Refinery

Paulsboro has a throughput capacity of 180,000 thousand barrels per day and a Nelson Complexity Index of 13.2. The Paulsboro refinery is located on approximately 950 acres on the Delaware River in Paulsboro, New Jersey, just south of Philadelphia and approximately 30 miles away from Delaware City. Paulsboro receives crude and feedstocks through its marine terminal on the Delaware River. Paulsboro is one of two operating refineries on the East Coast with coking capacity, the other being Delaware City. Units at the Paulsboro refinery include crude distillation units, vacuum distillation units, an FCC unit, a delayed coking unit, a lube oil processing unit and a propane de-asphalting unit. The Paulsboro refinery processes a range of medium and heavy, sour crude oils. The Paulsboro refinery produces gasoline, heating oil and jet fuel and also manufactures Group I base oils or lubricants. In addition to its finished clean products slate, Paulsboro produces asphalt and petroleum coke. In addition, separate from the Company's agreement with Statoil the Company ha! s a long-! term contract with Saudi Aramco. The Paulsboro refinery has total storage capacity of approximately 7.5 million barrels. Of the total, approximately 2.1 million barrels are dedicated to crude oil storage with the remaining 5.4 million barrels allocated to finished products, intermediates and other products.

Toledo Refinery

Toledo has a throughput capacity of approximately 170,000 thousand barrels per day and a Nelson Complexity Index of 9.2. Toledo processes a slate of light, sweet crudes from Canada, the Midcontinent, the Bakken region and the United States Gulf Coast. Toledo produces a high percentage of finished products, including gasoline and ULSD, in addition to a range of petrochemicals, including nonene, xylene, tetramer and toluene. The Toledo refinery is located on a 282-acre site near Toledo, Ohio, approximately 60 miles from Detroit. Units at the Toledo refinery include an FCC unit, a hydrocracker, an alkylation unit and a UDEX unit. Crude is delivered to the Toledo refinery through three primary pipelines: Enbridge from the north, Capline from the south and Mid-Valley from the south. Crude is also delivered to a nearby terminal by rail and from local sources by truck to a truck unloading facility within the refinery.

Toledo is connected through pipelines, to a distribution network throughout Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The finished products are transported on pipelines owned by Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. and Buckeye Partners.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  As a result, Garcia and Molchanov changed their rating on a number of refining stocks. Valero Energy gets cut to Outperfrom from Strong Buy, while Holly Frontier, Delek US (DK) and PBF Energy (PBF) get downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform. Only “defensive, insulated” Phillips 66 gets an upgraded, to Outperform from Market Perform.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  PBF Energy (NYSE: PBF) tumbled 5.85 percent to $28.16 after the company priced secondary offering of 15 million shares at $28 per share. Gulfport Energy (NASDAQ: GPOR) was down, falling 6 percent to $55.66 after the company reported 2013 exit rate of 27,780 barrels of oil equivalent per day. RBC Capital downgraded Gulfport Energy from Outperform to Sector Perform and cut the price target from $64.00 to $61.00.

Top Gas Stocks To Own For 2014: Hess Corporation (HES)

Hess Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an independent energy company worldwide. It operates in two segments, Exploration and Production (E&P), and Marketing and Refining (M&R). The E&P segment explores for, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil and natural gas. This segment conducts exploration and production activities principally in Algeria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, China, Denmark, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Ghana, Indonesia, the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, Peru, the Russian Federation, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The M&R segment purchases, markets, and trades in refined petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity. This segment serves motoring public, wholesale distributors, industrial and commercial users, other petroleum companies, governmental agencies, and public utilities. It also operates terminals and retail gasoline stations, which include convenience stores located on the East Coast of the United States. As of December 31, 2012, the company operated 1,361 HESS gasoline stations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Hess Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Of course, I’d also like to alert you to these big blue chips that have fallen in the eyes of the analyst community before they disappoint with their earnings reports.

  Avon Products (AVP): In the past three months, analysts have slashed their estimates by 19%. Avon Products is expected to see sales fall 8.1% and earnings plunge 18.9%. AVP is a sell. Coach (COH): In the past three months, analysts have reduced their estimates by 11%. Coach is now headed towards a 1.1% drop in sales and an 8.9% drop in earnings. COH is a sell. Hess (HES): In the past three months, analysts have slashed their estimates by 19%. Hess is due to post a 75% year-on-year drop in sales and just 7.5% annual earnings growth. HES is a hold. H&R Block (HRB): In the past two months, analysts have slashed their estimates from a profit of 1 cent per share to a loss of 8 cents per share. HRB is a hold. Target (TGT): In the past two months, analysts have cut their estimates by 15%. Target is now expected to see sales retreat 2.8% over last year and earnings fall nearly 16%. TGT is a sell.

  Now a lot can happen in the weeks between now and these earnings announcements, so there is a chance that some of these will firm up before then. However, in the meantime I see no reason to hold stocks that are underperforming their peers, especially when so many premium stocks are still on sale.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  What's most surprising is that if rail was to lose its competitive advantage to more expensive sources such as Brent, the rail companies would not be the most affected industry out there. Despite the large surge in oil carloads in the past couple of years, it still represents only 5% of total rail traffic in the U.S. year to date. Compare that with producers of Bakken oil, which depend on rail to move 75% of oil away from the region. EOG and Continental are heavily invested in moving their oil by rail, and they aren't the only ones. Both Hess (NYSE: HES  ) and Oasis Petroleum (NYSE: OAS  ) move about 50% and 80% of their oil from the Bakken region by rail, respectively. Without rail, there would be several thousand barrels of oil stranded in the region, and the prices for that oil would be likely to fall. Even with proposed expansions, pipeline capacity simply wouldn't be enough to move oil.�

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Yesterday, my colleagues in Asia argued for a bounce back in oil prices and offered some Asian stocks that could benefit if that were to occur. I followed that up with a post for U.S. investors. Now UBS has offered two stock picks of its own that could do well if oil prices recover, but hold up if they don’t: Hess (HES) and Chesapeake Energy (CHK).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The Danny Adkins day rate went from $474k in May 2011 to $498k working for Shell through Sept-14. Now the rig is slated to work for DGE at $317k for 200 days in the US GOM. Also, the Jim Thompson is expected to complete its contract on Dec-14 at $376k for Shell. Afterwards, the rig will enter the shipyard for 135 days, followed by a one year contract for Hess� (HES) at $300k/day…

Top Gas Stocks To Own For 2014: NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL)

NGL Energy Partners LP is a limited partnership company formed to own and operate a vertically-integrated propane business. The Company operates in three segments: retail propane; wholesale supply and marketing; and midstream. Its retail propane business sells propane to end users consisting of residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial customers. The Company�� wholesale supply and marketing business supplies propane and other natural gas liquids and provides related storage to retailers, wholesalers and refiners. Its midstream business, which consists of its propane terminaling business, takes delivery of propane from pipelines or trucks at its propane terminals and transfers the propane to third-party transport trucks for delivery to retailers, wholesalers or other consumers. The Company�� general partner is NGL Energy Holdings LLC (the General Partner). On October 14, 2010, it executed a series of transactions (the Combination) with NGL Supply, Inc. (NGL Supply). In February 2012, the Company acquired all of the assets comprising the propane and distillate operations of North American Propane. In May 2012, the Company acquired Downeast Energy Corporation. The assets contributed by Downeast are located in Maine and New Hampshire. In November 2012, the Company acquired limited liability company membership interests in Pecos Gathering & Marketing LLC and its affiliated companies (Pecos). In July 2013, NGL Energy Partners LP announced the acquisition of the assets of Crescent Terminals, LLC. Effective July 8, 2013, NGL Energy Partners LP acquired High Roller Wells Big Lake SWD No 1 LP. In August 2013, NGL Energy Partners LP acquired the water disposal and hauling business of Oilfield Water Lines LP. In September 2013, NGL Energy Partners LP acquired the water disposal business of Coastal Plains Disposal #1, LLC owned by WinCo Development, LLC. In November 2013, the Company announced acquisition of all of the equity interests of Gavilon, LLC.

Retail Propane

The Co! mpany�� retail propane business consists of the retail marketing, sale and distribution of propane, including the sale and lease of propane tanks, equipment and supplies, to more than 56,000 residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial customers. It markets retail propane primarily in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana and Kansas through its customer service locations. The Company owns or leases 44 customer service locations and 37 satellite distribution locations, with aggregate above-ground propane storage capacity of approximately four million gallons. It also owns a fleet of bulk delivery trucks and service vehicles.

Wholesale Supply and Marketing

The Company�� wholesale supply and marketing business provides propane procurement, storage, transportation and supply services to customers, through assets owned by it and by third parties. Its wholesale supply and marketing business also obtains the majority of the propane supply for its retail propane business. The Company procures propane from refiners, gas processing plants, producers and other resellers for delivery to leased storage, common carrier pipelines, rail car terminals and direct to certain customers. It has the right to utilize 100% of the ConocoPhillips Blue Line pipeline, which runs from Borger, Texas, to its propane terminals in East St. Louis, Illinois and Jefferson City, Missouri. The Company leases approximately 67 million gallons of propane storage space in various locations to accommodate the supply requirements and contractual needs of its retail and wholesale customers.

Midstream

The Company�� midstream business, which consists of its propane terminaling business, takes delivery of propane from a pipeline or truck at its propane terminals and transfers the propane to third party trucks for delivery to propane retailers, wholesalers or other customers. The Company�� midstream assets consist of its three propane terminals in East St. Louis, Illinois; Jefferson City, Missou! ri, and S! t. Catharines, Ontario. The Company is a service provider at each of its terminals, which have a combined annual throughput in excess of 170 million gallons of propane.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  NGL Energy Partners (NYSE: NGL) and Transmontaigne Partners (NYSE: TLP) said that they have ended discussions over NGL Energy's non-binding proposal to acquire the outstanding units of Transmontaigne. Shares of NGL Energy lost 0.57 percent, closing at $42.21 while shares of Transmontaigne gained 0.54 percent, closing at $43.03.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  This week a few companies answered the call and rewarded their shareholders with higher cash dividends:
  
  Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) engages in regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.4% to $0.63 per share. The dividend is payable March 15, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 12, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 4.7%.
  
  Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, develops, and manages real estate portfolio, as well as performs certain real estate-related services. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 66.7% to $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable February 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.
  
  Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) generates and distributes electric energy, as well as distributes natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Utility Energy and Non-Utility Energy. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2% to $0.3900 per share. The dividend is payable March 1, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 14, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.8%.
  
  BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 14.9% to $1.93 per share. The dividend is payable March 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on March 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.4%.
  
  ONEOK Inc. (OKE) operates as a diversified energy company in the United States. January 15th the company increased its quarterly dividend 5.3% to $0.40 per share. The dividend is payable February 18, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.5%.
  
  Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI) is a real es

• [By Robert Rapier]

  The four propane-focused MLPs are AmeriGas Partners (NYSE: APU), Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE: SPH), NGL Energy Partners (NYSE: NGL), and Ferrellgas Partners (NYSE: FGP).

Top Gas Stocks To Own For 2014: QEP Resources Inc (QEP)

QEP Resources, Inc. (QEP), incorporated on May 17, 2010, is a holding company. The Company operates in three lines of business: gas and oil exploration and production, midstream field services, and energy marketing. It conducted through three principal subsidiaries: QEP Energy Company (QEP Energy) acquires, explores for, develops and produces natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGL); QEP Field Services Company (QEP Field Services) provides midstream field services, including natural gas gathering, processing, compression and treating services for affiliates and third parties; andQEP Marketing Company (QEP Marketing) markets affiliate and third-party natural gas and oil, provides risk-management services, and owns and operates an underground gas-storage reservoir. QEP operates in the Northern and Southern Regions of the United States and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Principal offices are located in Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

QEP�� exploration and production business is conducted through QEP Energy in two core regions, the Northern Region (including the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and North Dakota) and the Southern Region (including the states of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana). QEP Energy has approximately 50,800 net acres of Haynesville Shale lease rights in northwest Louisiana and additional lease rights that cover the Hosston and Cotton Valley formations. The depth of the top of the Haynesville Shale ranges from approximately 10,500 feet to 12,500 feet across QEP Energy�� leasehold and is below the Hosston and Cotton Valley formations that QEP Energy has been developing in northwest Louisiana for over a decade. As of December 31, 2011, QEP Energy had three operated rigs drilling in the project area. QEP Energy�� Midcontinent properties cover all properties in the Southern Region except the Haynesville/Cotton Valley area of northwest Louisiana and are distributed over an area, including the ! Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. QEP Energy has approximately 77,000 net acres of Woodford Shale lease rights in western Oklahoma. QEP Energy has approximately 38,700 net acres of Granite Wash/Atoka Wash lease rights in the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma and has been drilling vertical Granite Wash/Atoka Wash wells. The Company estimates that up to 1,100 additional wells will be required to fully develop its Pinedale acreage on a combination of 5 and 10-acre density. In addition to QEP Energy�� gross producing wells, QEP Energy had an overriding royalty interest in an additional 21 wells at Pinedale. QEP Energy owns interests in approximately 255,200 net leasehold acres in the Uinta Basin. The remainder of QEP Energy Northern Region leasehold interests, productive wells and proved reserves are distributed over a number of fields and properties managed as the Rockies Legacy division. Exploration and development activity during the year ended December 31, 2011, includes wells in the Powder River and Greater Green River Basins in Wyoming and the Williston Basin in North Dakota. QEP Energy has approximately 90,000 net acres of lease rights in the Williston Basin in western North Dakota, where the Company is targeting the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

QEP Energy Company

QEP Energy is actively involved in several of North America�� hydrocarbon resource plays. QEP�� exploration and production activities are conducted through QEP Energy. P Energy operates in two core regions: the Northern Region (including the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and North Dakota) and the Southern Region (including the states of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana). The Southern Region contributed approximately 56% of 2011 production while the Northern Region contributed the remaining 44%. QEP Energy reported 3,614 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent of estimated proved reserves as of December 31, 2011. Of those estimated proved reserves, approximately 64%! , or 2,31! 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, were located in the Northern Region at December 31, 2011. The remaining 36%, or 1,302 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent at December 31, 2011, were located in the Southern Region. QEP Energy has an inventory of identified development drilling locations, primarily on the Pinedale Anticline in western Wyoming; the Haynesville/Cotton Valley area in northwestern Louisiana; the Midcontinent area with properties primarily in Oklahoma and Texas; the Uinta Basin in eastern Utah, and the Rockies Legacy, which includes the Bakken/Three Forks area in western North Dakota and other properties in Wyoming.

QEP Field Services Company

QEP invests in midstream (gathering, processing and treating) systems to complement its natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) operations in regions where QEP Energy has production. In addition, QEP�� midstream business also provides midstream services to third-party customers, including independent producers. QEP Field Services owns various natural gas gathering, treating and processing facilities in the Northern and Southern Regions as well as 78% of Rendezvous Gas Services, LLC, (RGS), a partnership that operates gas gathering facilities in western Wyoming. The FERC-regulated Rendezvous Pipeline Co., LLC (Rendezvous Pipeline), a wholly owned subsidiary of QEP Field Services, operates a 21-mile, 20-inch-diameter pipeline between QEP Field Services��Blacks Fork gas-processing plant and the Muddy Creek compressor station owned by Kern River Gas Transmission Co. (Kern River Pipeline). RGS gathers natural gas for Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Field producers for delivery to various interstate pipelines. QEP Field Services also owns 38% of Uintah Basin Field Services, LLC (UBFS) and 50% of Three Rivers Gathering, LLC (Three Rivers). These two partnerships operate natural gas gathering facilities in eastern Utah.

QEP Marketing Company

QEP Marketing provides wholesale market! ing and s! ales of affiliate and third-party natural gas, oil and NGL. As a wholesale marketing entity, QEP Marketing concentrates on markets in the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest and Midcontinent that are either close to affiliate reserves and production or accessible by pipelines. QEP Marketing contracts for firm-transportation capacity on pipelines and firm-storage capacity at Clay Basin, a baseload-storage facility. QEP Marketing, through its subsidiary Clear Creek Storage Company, LLC, owns and operates an underground gas-storage reservoir in southwestern Wyoming. QEP Marketing uses owned and leased storage capacity together with firm-transportation capacity.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP  ) is letting its dividend flow. The company has declared a quarterly payout of $0.02 per share, to be paid on June 22 to shareholders of record as of June 3. That amount is in line with all of the firm's previous distributions stretching back to the first one it handed out in September 2010.

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  QEP Midstream Partners is about to become a real, live master limited partnership. Parent company QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP  ) has filed the appropriate paperwork with the SEC, and while we don't know specifics regarding the number of shares, or how the offering will be priced, the S-1 is chock-full of information for prospective investors.

• [By Dimitra DeFotis]

  Sterne Agee said in July research that operators with Bakken-formation leverage, including Oasis, Superior Energy Services�(SPN),�Whiting Petroleum (WLL) and QEP Resources (QEP),�“have improved their communication with Wall Street and appropriately managed expectations for the impact that flooding in North Dakota could have on second-quarter earnings.” �See Barron’s Investor’s Soapbox PM�for�July 17, subscription required.)

Top Gas Stocks To Own For 2014: Markwest Energy Partners LP (MWE)

MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (MarkWest Energy) is a master limited partnership engaged in the gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas; the transportation, fractionation, storage and marketing of natural gas liquids (NGLs), and the gathering and transportation of crude oil. It provides services in the midstream sector of the natural gas industry. The Company also provides processing and fractionation services to crude oil refineries in the Corpus Christi, Texas area through its Javelina gas processing and fractionation facility. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated in four segments: Southwest, Northeast, Liberty and Gulf Coast. Effective December 31, 2011, the Company acquired the remaining 49% interest in MarkWest Liberty Midstream. On February 1, 2011, the Company acquired Langley processing plant.

Southwest Segment

The Company owns a system in East Texas that consists of natural gas gathering pipelines, centralized compressor stations, a natural gas processing facility and an NGL pipeline. The East Texas system is located in Panola, Harrison and Rusk Counties and services the Carthage Field. Producing formations in Panola County consist of the Cotton Valley, Pettit, Travis Peak and Haynesville formations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, approximately 77% of its natural gas volumes in the East Texas System result from contracts with six producers. The Company sells substantially all of the purchased and retained NGLs produced at its East Texas processing facility to Targa Resources Partners, L.P. (Targa) under a long-term contract. Such sales represent approximately 19.4% of its consolidated revenue in 2011.

The Company owns a natural gas gathering system in the Woodford Shale play in the Arkoma Basin of southeast Oklahoma. The liquids-rich natural gas gathered in the Woodford system is processed through Centrahoma Processing LLC (Centrahoma), its equity investment, or other third-party processors. In addition, it owns the Foss Lake! natural gas gathering system and the Western Oklahoma natural gas processing complex, all located in Roger Mills, Beckham, Custer and Ellis Counties of western Oklahoma. The gathering portion consists of a pipeline system that is connected to natural gas wells and associated compression facilities. The Company also owns a gathering system in the Granite Wash formation in Wheeler County in the Texas panhandle that is connected to its Western Oklahoma processing complex. The Company completed the expansion of the Western Oklahoma natural gas processing plant in October 2011.

Approximately 70% of its Oklahoma volumes result from contracts with three producers in 2011. The Company sells substantially all of the NGLs produced in the Western Oklahoma processing complex to ONEOK Hydrocarbon L.P. (ONEOK) under a long-term contract. Such sales represent approximately 13.2% of its consolidated revenue in 2011. The Company owns a number of natural gas gathering systems located in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico, including the Appleby gathering system in Nacogdoches County, Texas. It gathers a portion of the gas produced from fields adjacent to its gathering systems, including from wells targeting the Haynesville Shale. In addition, it owns four lateral pipelines in Texas and New Mexico.

Northeast Segment

The Company�� Northeast segment assets include the Kenova, Boldman, Cobb, Kermit and Langley natural gas processing plants, an NGL pipeline and the Siloam NGL fractionation plant. In addition, it has two caverns for storing propane at its Siloam facility and additional propane storage capacity under a long-term firm-capacity agreement with a third party. The Northeast segment operations include fractionation and marketing services on behalf of the Liberty segment. The Company owns and operates a crude oil pipeline in Michigan (Michigan Crude Pipeline) providing transportation service for three shippers.

Liberty Segment

The Company pr! ovides na! tural gas midstream services in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia through MarkWest Liberty Midstream. It is a processor of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, with gathering, processing, fractionation, storage and marketing operations.

Utica Segment

Effective January 1, 2012, the Company and The Energy and Minerals Group (EMG) formed MarkWest Utica EMG, a joint venture focused on the development of natural gas processing and NGL fractionation, transportation and marketing infrastructure to serve producers' drilling programs in the Utica shale in eastern Ohio. During 2011, the Utica Segment did not have any operations.

Gulf Coast Segment

The Company owns and operates the Javelina processing facility, a natural gas processing facility in Corpus Christi, Texas that treats and processes off-gas from six local refineries operated by three different refinery customers. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 40% interest in Centrahoma Processing LLC (Centrahoma), a joint venture with Cardinal Midstream, LLC (Cardinal). Centrahoma owns certain processing plants in the Arkoma Basin and Cardinal operates an additional processing plant that is not owned by Centrahoma but is located adjacent to and operates in conjunction with the Centrahoma plants.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  In Magnum Hunter's two core operating areas, the Williston Basin and the Appalachian Basin, it has felt this impact directly. The company has been forced to endure production shut-ins because critical midstream assets, like those now in service by MarkWest (NYSE: MWE  ) , weren't yet available. Further, in order to access MarkWest's plants, Magnum Hunter has been building the pipeline infrastructure critical to connect its gas to these plants. As seen in the map below, Magnum Hunter's Eureka Hunter Pipeline is providing it with critical access to MarkWest's new Mobley plant:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  MarkWest Energy� (NYSE: MWE  ) �has taken this as a challenge and will soon be the top infrastructure provider in the region. During the year it plans on bringing a 100,000 barrel per day fractionation facility on line with truck, rail, and pipeline access. This facility will also have access to fractionation facilities in the Marcellus Shale. This addition broadens a portfolio that already houses multiple facilities capable of refrigeration, cryogenic processing, and fractionation. As you can see from the following slide, the company has a number of projects under construction to meet the growing needs of producers in the region. �

• [By Dr. Kent Moors]

  From the Editor: Shares of MarkWest Energy Partners (NYSE: MWE) are up 63% since Kent recommended them in Energy Advantage. Genesis Energy LP (Nasdaq: GEL) is up 71%. But the MLP market is about to get much more interesting, according to Kent. That's why he's targeting the "clones" now...