The Marcellus shale-gas play has awakened the once-sleepy Appalachian Basin, and now a party is in full swing. As the lively crowds at Hart Energy Publishing's recent Marcellus Midstream Conference and Exhibition in Pittsburgh can attest, these days, financial deals are popping in this region's midstream sector nearly as often as in the upstream.

From internal programs to joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, operators have plentiful rigs at work throughout the vibrant play, and these rigs are delivering gas to the growing midstream industry. In fact, much of the buzz ...