Buckeye Partners To Buy Petroleum Products Terminals From Hess For $850 Mln

(RTTNews) - Buckeye Partners L.P. (BPL) has agreed to buy 20 liquid petroleum products terminals with total storage capacity of about 39 million barrels from Hess Corporation (HES) for $850 million in cash.

The 19 domestic terminals are located primarily in major metropolitan locations along the U.S. East Coast and have about 29 million barrels of refined petroleum products storage capacity, including around 15 million barrels of capacity strategically located in New York Harbor. The terminal on St. Lucia in the Caribbean has about 10 million barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products storage capacity and has deep-water access.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, is expected to close before year-end.

"This acquisition is a tremendous opportunity for Buckeye to create value by overlaying our commercial operating model on a premier platform of complementary assets," stated Clark Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Smith said the company expects the deal, which includes a multi-year storage and throughput commitment by Hess, will be immediately accretive to its distributable cash flow per unit, excluding first year transition-related expenses.