June 6, 2013 [OPIS] - Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMEP) plans to expand on its joint-venture Battleground Oil Specialty Terminal Company facility, which is still under construction along the Houston Ship Channel, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
The expansion is supported by a long-term leased storage and handling services contract with Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc.
Budgeted for $54 million, the company plans to begin this expansion project in the current quarter, and have that ready for commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2014, KMEP said. This expansion would involve adding another 900,000 barrels of capacity to the terminal, KMEP added.
This expansion would also include the construction of six, 150,000-barrel, ultra-low-sulfur diesel tanks, extra pipeline and deepwater vessel dock access, and high-speed loading at a rate of 30,000 barrels per hour.
KMP has a 55% stake in BOSTCO while TransMontaigne Partners owns the rest of the equity. The BOSTCO oil terminal, located at mile marker 43 on the Houston Ship Channel, is expected to begin commercial operations in the third quarter of 2013.
This project has been billed at $485 million and will span 185 acres.
With the completion of this expansion, the terminal will be fully subscribed for the total capacity of 7.1 million barrels and would include the construction of 57 storage tanks to handle ultra-low-sulfur diesel, residual fuels and other black oil terminal services.
