December 03, 2012 [NASDAQ] - TransMontaigne Partners L.P. (TLP) has received approval to buy back an ownership interest of up to almost 49% in the Battleground Oil Specialty Terminal Company LLC terminal project, after earlier this year selling its remaining stake in the project to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P.
TransMontaigne has received the approval from Morgan Stanley (MS), which controls TransMontaigne’s general partner.
The Battleground Oil Specialty Terminal Company (BOSTCO) project involves the construction of a new black-oil terminal facility on the Houston Ship Channel. The initial phase of the project, expected to cost about $415 million, currently includes construction of 50 storage tanks with a capacity of about 6.1 million barrels for handling residual fuel, feedstocks, distillates and other black oils.
TransMontaigne noted that the BOSTCO project includes one of the deepest vessel drafts in the Houston Ship Channel and “will be well positioned to participate in the growing trend of exporting petroleum-related products overseas.”
It expects the deal to close on or before Jan. 19.
In November 2010, TransMontaigne Partners initially acquired roughly 190 acres of undeveloped land on the Houston Ship Channel. During 2010 and 2011, it developed the Battleground black-oil storage terminal. Also during 2011, the company sold 50% of its interest in the project to Kinder Morgan.
Later in 2011, Morgan Stanley said it would not, for the foreseeable future, approve any “significant” acquisition or investment that TransMontaigne proposed. The firm determined that TransMontaigne couldn’t continue to pursue the development of the Battleground Oil Specialty Terminal Company (BOSTCO) project, propelling TransMontaigne to sell its remaining interest in the project to Kinder Morgan in late 2011.
However, it retained a one-year option to repurchase up to 50% of Kinder’s interest in the project at any time prior to Jan. 20, 2013.
