HOUSTON, April 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Buckeye Partners, L.P. (“Buckeye”) (NYSE:BPL) today announced an approximately $80 million expansion of the Chicago Complex, its key logistics hub in the Midwest. This project, backed by a long-term agreement with BP Products North America, Inc., will further expand storage, component blending, throughput capacity and service capabilities in the Chicago Complex to support the growing needs of this customer. The expansion includes the construction of approximately 600,000 barrels of additional product blending tankage as well as the build-out of an existing truck rack.
“This is a meaningful win for Buckeye and demonstrates the value in the position and flexibility of our assets to enable a broad range of both operational and trading capabilities,” said Robert A. Malecky, Executive Vice President and President of Domestic Pipeline and Terminals. “The Chicago Complex currently serves nearly 70 different customers with approximately 6.8 million barrels of storage capacity. The Complex is widely recognized as the most flexible storage facility in the Chicago market, with connectivity to multiple pipelines and refineries from across the region and rail capability for a range of different products. This project will further enhance the liquidity of the Chicago Complex and continues to solidify our position as the premier storage and trading facility in the Chicago area. We believe the Midwestern refining industry is materially cost-advantaged to certain of its competitors in other parts of the country and poised for continued growth and investment. Our teams expect this expansion to be the first phase of additional growth because of these dynamics and will continue to work with other customers with similar interest.”
About Buckeye Partners, L.P.
Buckeye Partners, L.P. (NYSE:BPL) is a publicly traded master limited partnership which owns and operates, or owns a significant interest in, a diversified global network of integrated assets providing midstream logistic solutions, primarily consisting of the transportation, storage, processing and marketing of liquid petroleum products. Buckeye is one of the largest independent liquid petroleum products pipeline operators in the United States in terms of volumes delivered, with approximately 6,000 miles of pipeline. Buckeye also uses its service expertise to operate and/or maintain third-party pipelines and perform certain engineering and construction services for its customers. Buckeye’s global terminal network, including through its interest in VTTI B.V. (“VTTI”), comprises more than 135 liquid petroleum products terminals with aggregate tank capacity of over 176 million barrels across our portfolio of pipelines, inland terminals and marine terminals located primarily in the East Coast, Midwest and Gulf Coast regions of the United States as well as in the Caribbean, Northwest Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Buckeye’s global network of marine terminals enables it to facilitate global flows of crude oil and refined petroleum products, offering its customers connectivity between supply areas and market centers through some of the world’s most important bulk liquid storage and blending hubs. Buckeye’s flagship marine terminal in The Bahamas, Buckeye Bahamas Hub, is one of the largest marine crude oil and refined petroleum products storage facilities in the world and provides an array of logistics and blending services for the global flow of petroleum products. Buckeye’s Gulf Coast regional hub, Buckeye Texas Partners, offers world-class marine terminalling, storage and processing capabilities. Through its 50% equity interest in VTTI, Buckeye’s global terminal network offers premier storage and marine terminalling services for petroleum product logistics in key international energy hubs. Buckeye is also a wholesale distributor of refined petroleum products in certain areas served by its pipelines and terminals. More information concerning Buckeye can be found at www.buckeye.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statements that we believe to be reasonable as of today’s date. Such statements are identified by use of the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” and similar expressions. Actual results may differ significantly because of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and that may be beyond our control. Among the forward-looking statements set forth in this press release are statements regarding our expectation of increasing quarterly distributions in the future. These statements are subject to, among other risks, (i) changes in federal, state, local, and foreign laws or regulations to which we are subject, including those governing pipeline tariff rates and those that permit the treatment of us as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, (ii) terrorism and other security risks, including cyber risk, adverse weather conditions, including hurricanes, environmental releases, and natural disasters, (iii) changes in the marketplace for our products or services, such as increased competition, changes in product flows, better energy efficiency, or general reductions in demand, (iv) adverse regional, national, or international economic conditions, adverse capital market conditions, and adverse political developments, (v) shutdowns or interruptions at our pipeline, terminalling, storage, and processing assets or at the source points for the products we transport, store, or sell, (vi) unanticipated capital expenditures in connection with the construction, repair, or replacement of our assets, (vii) volatility in the price of liquid petroleum products, (viii) nonpayment or nonperformance by our customers, (ix) our ability to integrate acquired assets with our existing assets and to realize anticipated cost savings and other efficiencies and benefits and (x) our ability to successfully complete our organic growth projects and to realize the anticipated financial benefits. You should read our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, for a more extensive list of factors that could affect results. We undertake no obligation to revise our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after today’s date except as required by law.
Contact:
Kevin J. Goodwin
Vice President & Treasurer
irelations@buckeye.com
(800) 422-2825