As exclusively reported by OPIS (11/16/2009) BP wants to divest a large portion of non-strategic midstreams assets in the U.S. Where it sells terminals or pipelines, it will negotiate long term throughput agreements so that it can continue to wholesale product in impacted markets.

Two packages of assets have been distributed to prospective buyers. The first package consists of mostly midcontinent and a few West Coast properties. On sale are terminals in Cedar Rapids, Ottumwa, Council Bluffs, Des Moines and Bettendorf, IA; South Bend, IN; Jackson, Dearborn, and River Rouge, MI; Sugar Creek, MO; and Milwaukee, WI. On the West Coast, BP terminals in West Sacramento and Stockton, CA are part of this package.

Pipelines bundled in for a potential bid include a products’ line that originates in Dubuque and passes through points in Missouri, as well as an airport line that takes jet fuel from Dearborn MI to the Detroit airport. An assortment of out-of-service terminals is also included in this first package of assets.

A second package, referred to as the southeast and Ohio pipelines and terminals includes a number of Gulf Coast supplied terminals in Belton, Sweetwater, and Spartanburg, SC; Birmingham and Montgomery, AL; Fairfax, Richmond and Roanoke, VA; and the deepwater terminal in Tampa.

A slew of terminals that get fed by Ohio refineries are up for sale. On the block are sites in Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, Lorraine, Niles, Sciotoville, Tiffin, and Toledo, OH; as well as facilities in Coraopolis and Greensburg, PA; and Louisville, KY.

A number of still operating pipelines in Ohio are packaged with the terminals as is BP’s ownership interest in Inland Corporation and some other out-of-service lines in the region.

In all, the packages include a mishmash of assets, ranging from tiny facilities like the 25,000 bbl capacity Richmond terminal to huge complexes like the 897,000 bbl Sugar Creek, MO refined products’ tank farm. And while BP prefers one buyer, sources say that it might be difficult for a single company to bid aggressively on all the assets. The Midcontinent and West Coast package, for example, might have great appeal to Buckeye, Magellan, and NuStar while southeastern locations will almost certainly see strong interest from Kinder Morgan or Plains and other Master Limited Partnerships.