Kinder Morgan invests $50 million in terminals expansion

May 31, 2002
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP), Houston TX, will invest an additional $50 million in its growing terminals business on significant expansion projects

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP), Houston TX, will invest an additional $50 million in its growing terminals business on significant expansion projects and two small acquisitions, according to company information. Through the investments, KMP will increase storage capacity by 400,000 barrels at its Carteret Terminal on New York Harbor; add 300,000 barrels of storage capacity at its Pasadena Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel; and upgrade its recently acquired Dravosburg Terminal in Pittsburgh PA.

"We are delighted with the growth opportunities that we continue to identify in our rapidly growing terminals business segment," said Richard D. Kinder, KMP chairman and chief executive officer. "There is a real need for additional infrastructure in the United States to store and transport petroleum products, and our extensive expansion projects will help meet that need. We are building additional tanks at our two largest liquids terminals (Pasadena and Carteret) and customers have already entered into long-term contracts for the additional storage capacity."

Kinder Morgan Liquids Terminals (KMLT) will increase storage capacity at its Carteret terminal by 400,000 barrels through Phase II of an expansion project. Tanks with a capacity to store an additional 400,000 barrels of petroleum products are already under construction in Phase I of the project. Combined, the additional tankage will boost storage capacity at Carteret by 12 percent to help meet strong customer demand. The Carteret terminal currently has 261 tanks with 6.6 million barrels of storage capacity. In addition, Phase II of the Carteret expansion will include construction of a new 16-inch pipeline that will connect to the Buckeye Pipeline system, a major products pipeline serving the East Coast. Phase II of the Carteret expansion is targeted for completion in the fall of 2003, with Phase I expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2002. The Carteret facility is also connected to other major pipelines in the area, including the Colonial, 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.

At the Pasadena/Galena Park complex, Phase II of the expansion program will increase storage capacity by another 300,000 barrels to meet the growing demand of Gulf Coast customers. An initial expansion phase currently under construction will add 830,000 barrels of storage. The facility has more than 200 tanks with approximately 17 million barrels of capacity for gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and heating oil. Phase II of the project is anticipated to be completed in the second quarter of 2003, while Phase I is expected to be finished in the third quarter of 2002.

In addition, KMP purchased a facility adjacent to its Milwaukee WI dry-bulk terminal that is capable of handling up to 150,000 tons per year of fertilizer and salt for de-icing and livestock purposes. The bagging operation can accommodate orders ranging from five-pound bags to 2,000-pound super sacks. KMP purchased a parcel of land in Louisiana to be used for the expansion of its Port of New Orleans LA Terminal.

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