Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, Houston TX, have announced two acquisitions and a major expansion program within its terminals business segment, representing a total investment of $43 million. The purchases included Pittsburgh-based Laser Materials Services LLC, operator of 59 transload facilities in 18 states, and a two-thirds interest in International Marine Terminals Partnership (IMT), which operates a bulk terminal site in Port Sulphur LA.
In addition, KMP has launched a major expansion project at its liquids terminal in Carteret NJ.
The transload facilities associated with the Laser acquisition handle dry bulk products, including aggregates and plastics, and an entire spectrum of liquid chemicals. The 59 locations are equipped for bimodal (rail-to-truck and truck-to-rail) operation and handled more than 60,000 railcars (approximately six million net tons) of throughput in 2001.
Customers of Laser, including CSX Corporation subsidiary TRANSFLO Terminal Services Inc, own the complexes. Kinder Morgan will serve as operator.
As part of the IMT transaction, KMP purchased a one-third interest from Marine Terminals Inc and a one-third interest from Glenn Springs Holdings Inc. The Port Sulphur location is a multi-purpose import and export facility that handles approximately seven million tons annually of bulk products including coal, petroleum coke, and iron ore.
The Carteret expansion program, which is being carried out by KMP subsidiary Kinder Morgan Liquids Terminals LLC, will add 400,000 barrels of storage within the next year. Currently, the facility's 261 tanks have 6.6 million barrels of storage capacity for a variety of petroleum and petrochemical products. The Carteret facility is connected to a number of major pipelines in the area, including the Colonial, Buckeye, Interharbor, and Sunoco systems. In addition, the facility handles a significant volume of imported petroleum products and is a key delivery point for the New York Mercantile Exchange.