Crestwood Midstream Parters LP had announced that its subsidiary, Crestwood Niobrara LLC had entered into an agreement for the acquisition a 50% interest in Jackalope Gas Gathering Services LLC. The purchase would be made from RKI Exploration and Production for the price of US$108 million.

RKI is an independent exploration and production firm that is privately held. It undertakes its operations in the Powder River, Permian Basin as well as the Denver-Julesberg Basins.

According to Crestwood General Partner's Chairman, President and CEO Robert Phillips, "As we announced last year, Crestwood has been focusing its development efforts on rich gas plays such as the Powder River Basin Niobrara Shale. This transaction is an important next step in the development of that strategy and positions Crestwood in a growing play with an experienced midstream partner supported by a long-term contract and large acreage dedication being developed by very capable shale producers. "

He added, "In addition, the Jackalope platform provides additional opportunities for Crestwood to extend its value chain services to include NGL and crude oil storage, blending, truck and rail terminaling, transportation and marketing. It also further highlights the merits of Crestwood's recently announced combination with Inergy, L.P. and Inergy Midstream, L.P., which specialize in these value chain midstream services."