May 09, 2011 [OPIS] - Buckeye Partners is expected to close on its purchase of 33 products terminals and 992 miles of pipelines in 13 states around June 1, and BP has assured marketers that the transfer won't impact its competitiveness in places where it will no longer own the hardware.
A letter to BP branded marketers from branded sales senior vice president Sean Daley claims that BP already moves over 55% of its east of the Rockies volumes through third party terminals with the same level of supply reliability as BP-owned racks.
But there may be some changes related to the ownership transfer. BP advised marketers that it will need to shut down terminals, measure tank inventories and complete automation systems at closing as title gets transferred. If regulators don’t raise an eleventh hour objection to the deal, terminals will see three to four hour shutdowns for inventory accounting and then ultimately see four to six hours shutdowns for Terminal Automation System (TAS) transitions.
The refiner still needs to finalize details on new loading numbers, carrier insurance, driver certification, driver cards, etc and promises to provide all information before June 1.
The TAS shutdowns will begin on June 6 with Birmingham, Alabama and Stockton, California terminals. The last of the transitions should be concluded and concluded by July 21 when the Ottumwa, Iowa and Sugar Creek, Missouri terminals see the four to five hour outages.
The entire listof terminals includes Birmingham and Montgomery, AL; Stockton and Sacramento, CA; Richmond, Roanoke, and Fairfax, VA; Spartanburg, Sweetwater, and Belton, SC; Milwaukee, WI; Tampa, FL; Louisville, KY; Greensburg and Coraopolis, PA; Jackson, Dearborn, and River Rouge, MI; South Bend, IN; Des Moines, Bettendorf, Council Bluffs, Ottumwa, and Cedar Rapids, IA; and Sugar Creek, MO.
