The current period benefited from recently-acquired crude oil storage in Cushing, Oklahoma, which the partnership purchased in Sept. 2010, and recently-constructed storage in Cushing and Galena Park, Texas.

Higher ethanol and additive fees at the partnership’s inland terminals also contributed to the improvement, offsetting lower throughput volumes. Operating expenses decreased slightly between periods due to lower maintenance expense in the current quarter resulting from project timing, which more than offset higher operating costs related to the recently-acquired crude oil storage.