February 28, 2014 [OPIS] - NuStar Energy LP said on Thursday that it has closed on a transaction with an affiliate of Lindsay Goldberg LLC, a private investment firm, to divest all of its 50% voting interest in an asphalt joint venture that owns a refinery located in Paulsboro, N.J., a terminal located in Savannah, Ga., and the related working capital.
After closing, Lindsay Goldberg LLC now owns a 100% voting interest in the asphalt business.
This divesture at NuStar represents the company’s exit from the asphalt business, and NuStar is to concentrate solely on its more stable storage and pipeline fee-based operations.
“This transaction is one of the final steps in our efforts to reduce our exposure to margin-based operations,” said Brad Barron, president and CEO of NuStar Energy.
“After closing, our financial liability related to asphalt refining and margin-based operations has been reduced significantly. In addition, our earnings will no longer be burdened by the volatility and losses generated by the asphalt joint venture,” he said.
NuStar, a publicly traded master limited partnership based in San Antonio, is one of the largest independent liquids terminal and pipeline operators in the nation. NuStar currently has 8,643 miles of pipeline and 87 terminal and storage facilities that store and distribute crude oil, refined products and specialty liquids.
The partnership’s combined system has approximately 94 million bbl of storage capacity, and NuStar has operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, including St. Eustatius in the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and Turkey.
