OPIS has confirmed that the unnamed third party is RaceTrac. The two companies inked the agreement in mid-September and it can be extended for two additional five-year terms. RaceTrac thus replaces TransMontaigne parent Morgan Stanley as the principal customer for the terminal, although sources tell OPIS that subsidiary TPSI will throughput at the Tampa facility for at least another year. It is likely that RaceTrac will seek additional throughput partners, and field reports indicate that Gulf Oil may be the first of those additional suppliers, bringing barrels to the Tampa facility later this month.

The move for RaceTrac comes after a stormy 2012 and 2013 where Florida supply was often compromised by very expensive freight rates for Jones Act U.S. flagged vessels. For various intervals of the last 18 months, unbranded supply was tight and traded at more than 20cts gal above cheap Gulf Coast prices. But more importantly, it was often difficult to secure unbranded gasoline at terminals in Tampa and Orlando (Taft).

Shipping sources say that RaceTrac now has a barge on a time charter, so they are committed to providing much of their own Gulf Coast sourced supply to the Sunshine State. The company has been broadly expanding through numerous Florida counties with expectations for high volume stores that might typically move 300,000 gallons per month or more.

Supply into Florida from the Gulf Coast still commands prices considerably higher than before the shale oil boom. With more barges and tankers devoted to crude oil logistics, clean vessel freight rates remain at a premium. CBOB laid into Tampa at about 13-14cts/gal over Gulf Coast numbers recently, well above the 5-7cts/gal freight rates witnessed a few years ago.