The consortium consists of Macquarie Group, through its Macquarie Capital division, Quanta Services Inc. and individual investor Harley Franco, CEO and founder of Harley Marine Services Inc. Macquarie Group is the main offtaker of products at North Atlantic’s Come-By-Chance refinery on the east coast of Canada.   

Construction of the new terminal, which will have a projected initial storage capacity of 4-6 million bbl, is expected to commence during the first half of 2013. The facility is expected to begin commercial operations during 2014.    

Petroplex will build a storage and distribution terminal for crude oil, refined petroleum products, fuel oil, chemicals, agrichemicals, renewable fuels and other commercial liquid commodities and will provide in-tank blending capabilities throughout the facility.    

The initial phase of the project includes the design, engineering, development, and operation of a state-of-the-art storage terminal that is capable of receipt or delivery between a variety of intermodal systems, including trucks, railcars, marine barges and ocean­-going vessels, and connections to the existing and future pipeline infrastructure systems.   

Once completed, the project will be the only dedicated independent “for-hire” terminal services company serving the growing St. James crude and refining market.   

“The substantial increase in crude oil production from domestic shale formations and Canadian oil sands is rapidly changing North American product supply flows and requires new infrastructure to accommodate its storage,” said Mark Helmke, President and Chief Operating Officer, Petroplex.   

OPIS notes that several other midstream companies have or are working on other rail and terminal projects at St. James, capitalizing on the demand for cheap Midcon crude on the Gulf Coast.

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St. James’s Storage Facilities in TankTerminals.com: NuStar 1, NuStar 2, Valero, Ergon 1, Ergon 2