Sanchez Midstream Partners LP (AMEX: SNMP) said May 23 it expanded its South Texas joint venture (JV) as the Houston company positions itself for growing production from the western Eagle Ford Shale.

As part of a series of agreements, Sanchez Midstream and Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) have merged their 50% interests in the entities that own the high-pressure Carnero Gathering Line and Raptor Gas Processing Facility to form the expanded 50/50 Carnero JV.

In addition to owning the Raptor Gas Processing Facility, the new Carnero JV has acquired Targa’s 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) Silver Oak II Gas Processing Plant. Silver Oak II, located in Bee County Texas, owns the full capacity of the Carnero Gathering Line, which has a design limit (without compression) of 400 MMcf/d. The acquisition expands the processing capacity of the JV to 460 MMcf/d from 260 MMcf/d.

Additional enhancements to the parties’ prior JVs include new dedication of more than 315,000 gross Comanche acres in the western Eagle Ford, operated by Sanchez Energy Corp. (NYSE: SN), under a new long-term firm gas gathering and processing agreement. The agreement, which has been approved by all of the unaffiliated Comanche working interest partners, establishes commercial terms for the gathering of gas on the Carnero Gathering Line and processing at the Raptor Gas Processing Facility and Silver Oak II.

Prior to execution of the agreement with Sanchez Energy, Comanche volumes were gathered and processed on an interruptible basis, with the processing capabilities of the joint ventures limited by the capacity of the Raptor Gas Processing Facility.

By adding Silver Oak II and the additional capacity of the Carnero Gathering Line to the Carnero JV, Sanchez Midstream is positioned to capture the increase in volumes from the “significant development activity underway in the western Eagle Ford without spending any incremental development dollars,” said Gerry Willinger, CEO of the general partner of Sanchez Midstream

“As we anticipate increasing volumes through our expanded system in 2018 and the years to come, we have preemptively put ourselves in a position to continue to grow the partnership while being disciplined with capital. Accordingly, we see the new, expanded joint venture as a key step in positioning the partnership for continued growth in South Texas,” Willinger said in a statement.

Sanchez Midstream and Sanchez Energy are part of the Sanchez Oil & Gas group of companies headquartered in Houston. In 2017, Sanchez Midstream completed its transformation to a midstream MLP from its predecessor Sanchez Production Partners.