Global Partners LP announced June 11 that it had signed agreement with Meadowlark Midstream Company LLC whereby Meadowlark will build, own, and operate new a crude oil transportation system in north western North Dakota. The project is expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2015.
When completed, the system will include a truck unloading station with 55,000 barrels of tankage on Meadowlark’s Divide Gathering System, as well as a 47-mile pipeline serving Global’s crude oil storage facility at Basin Transload’s Columbus rail loading terminal in Burke County, North Dakota. Crude oil delivered to this rail terminal has single line haul rail access to Global’s Albany NY terminal and can also access other rail-serviced terminals throughout the United States.
In connection with this agreement, Global has commenced construction of an additional 176,000 barrels of tankage at the Columbus facility, which will bring total capacity to 446,000 barrels.
“The crude oil transportation system being developed by Meadowlark further expands our gathering capabilities in the Bakken region, providing our customers with even greater access to refineries and other downstream distribution points on both the East and West Coasts,” said Eric Slifka, Global’s president and chief executive officer. “This agreement reflects our continuing strategy to optimize the operations of our mid-continent assets through infrastructure connection projects that provide optionality for moving product to the highest-value markets nationwide.”
A publicly traded master limited partnership, Global Partners LP is a midstream logistics and marketing company. Global owns, controls or has access to one of the largest terminal networks of refined petroleum products and renewable fuels in the Northeast, and is one of the largest distributors of gasoline, distillates, residual oil and renewable fuels to wholesalers, retailers and commercial customers in New England and New York. Global is a leader in the purchasing, selling and logistics of transporting domestic and Canadian crude oil and other products by rail across its “virtual pipeline” from the mid-continent region of the Unite States and Canada to the East and West Coasts for distribution to refiners and other customers. With a portfolio of approximately 900 locations primarily in the Northeast, Global also is one of the largest independent owners, suppliers and operators of gasoline stations and convenience stores.