DENVER - DCP Midstream said Monday that it will double its natural-gas processing capacity in the Denver-Julesburg Basin by the end of 2014.

The Denver-based natural-gas processing company will increase its gathering and processing assets to nine gas processing plants in the D.J. Basin in Weld County. Total capacity will reach around 800 million cubic feet per day and gas liquids production of 70,000 barrels per day.

"Given DCP Midstream's prominent position in the basin, we have a strategic imperative to provide gas gathering, processing and transportation services to bring producers' products to market," said Wouter van Kempen, president of DCP Midstream's gathering and processing unit.

DCP recently broke ground on its previously announced LaSalle Plant, west of LaSalle, with a capacity of 110 million cubic feet per day. The company is timing the plant's opening next year with the start-up of the Front Range gas liquids pipeline, which will originate in Weld.

The pipeline, built by DCP, Enterprise Products Partners and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., will connect producers in the D.J. Basin to the premium Mont Belvieu, Texas, market, DCP said. The pipeline will maintain capacity of approximately 150 barrels per day, which can be expanded to about 230,000 barrels per day.

In addition, the state of Colorado granted DCP a permit enabling expanded operations of the Mewbourn II Plant west of Platteville. The permit will allow the plant to operate at full capacity of 160 million cubic feet per day, up from 35 million cubic feet per day.

The company also recently applied for a permit to build and operate the Lucerne II Plant, northeast of Greeley. The plant would maintain a capacity of as much as 230 million cubic feet per day.

DCP also will improve reliability by extending a high-pressure gathering system grid connected to its processing plants in Weld.