HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Keyera Corp. (TSX:KEY) (TSX:KEY.DB.A) and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE:KMP) today announced a 50-50 joint venture to build a crude oil rail loading facility in Edmonton, Alberta, called the Alberta Crude Terminal. When complete, the Alberta Crude Terminal will be able to accept crude oil streams handled at Kinder Morgan’s Edmonton Terminal for loading and delivery via rail to refineries anywhere in North America.
“We are delighted to partner with Kinder Morgan, one of the premier pipeline transportation and energy storage companies in North America,” said David Smith, president and COO of Keyera. “Kinder Morgan’s access to multiple crude streams, together with our location and facility capabilities, combines crude oil supply with the necessary infrastructure, land and rail connectivity to help address some of the crude oil delivery constraints currently being experienced by the Alberta energy sector.”
“Keyera is a key and significant mid-stream company in western Canada and we are pleased to be able to join forces with them to enable additional market export options for the Canadian producer and supply options for the North American refining industry,” said Bill Henderson, vice president for Kinder Morgan Canada Terminals. “The Alberta Crude Terminal is a great strategic fit with our expanding Edmonton terminal hub and is a very important part of our growing crude by rail terminal network.”
The Alberta Crude Terminal will be constructed next to Keyera’s Alberta Diluent Terminal on land recently acquired by a Keyera subsidiary. The Alberta Crude Terminal, which will be operated by Keyera, will have 20 loading spots capable of loading approximately 40,000 barrels per day of crude oil into tank cars and will be served by both Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. The location is very well situated to provide this service, as the Edmonton area is western Canada’s primary oil hub where Alberta crude oil is aggregated before being delivered to markets across North America.
In addition to the construction of the Alberta Crude Terminal, Kinder Morgan and Keyera are independently planning modifications to their respective facilities in the Edmonton area to facilitate delivery of crude oil to the Alberta Crude Terminal. Kinder Morgan is proposing to construct a 16-inch pipeline to connect its North 40 Edmonton Terminal to Keyera’s Edmonton Terminal. Keyera plans to construct a new 16-inch crude oil pipeline across its Edmonton Terminal to join to the existing Alberta Diluent Terminal connector pipeline and install additional pumping capacity. In conjunction with this project, Keyera is also proposing to construct a new 12-inch condensate pipeline connecting the Alberta Diluent Terminal to Keyera’s Fort Saskatchewan Pipeline System.
Engineering work is well underway on these initiatives, and commissioning of the new terminal is targeted for the second quarter of 2014, assuming receipt of regulatory approvals and delivery of long-lead items on a timely basis. Keyera’s share of the cost of the Alberta Crude Terminal, as well as the land purchase, pipeline construction and other facility modifications, is expected to be approximately $65 million. Kinder Morgan’s share of the cost of the Alberta Crude Terminal, including modifications to the Edmonton North 40 terminal and connections to Keyera, is expected to be approximately $33 million. Construction of the Alberta Crude Terminal is underpinned by a five-year agreement with a major refiner.
In anticipation of additional demand for crude oil loading services, Kinder Morgan and Keyera are currently evaluating a possible expansion of up to 125,000 barrels per day of additional crude loading capacity and the possible addition of a diluent recovery unit. The commercial discussions to determine customer support for such an expansion are expected to begin shortly.
About Keyera Corp.
Keyera Corp. (TSX:KEY) (TSX:KEY.DB.A) operates one of the largest natural gas midstream businesses in Canada. Its business consists of natural gas gathering and processing as well as the processing, transportation, storage and marketing of natural gas liquids (NGLs), the production of iso-octane and crude oil midstream activities.
Keyera’s gas processing plants and associated facilities are strategically located in the west central, foothills and deep basin natural gas production areas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Its NGL and crude oil infrastructure, including pipelines, terminals and processing and storage facilities, as well as its iso-octane facility, are located in Edmonton and Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, a major North American NGL hub. Keyera markets propane, butane, condensate and iso-octane to customers in Canada and the United States. For further information about Keyera, please visit our website at www.keyera.com.
About Kinder Morgan
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) is a leading pipeline transportation and energy storage company and one of the largest publicly traded pipeline limited partnerships in America. It owns an interest in or operates more than 54,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI). Kinder Morgan is the largest midstream and the third largest energy company in North America with a combined enterprise value of approximately $115 billion. It owns an interest in or operates approximately 82,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, CO2 and other products, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle such products as ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. KMI owns the general partner interests of KMP and El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB), along with limited partner interests in KMP, Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (NYSE: KMR) and EPB. For more information please visit www.kindermorgan.com.
This document contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations and assumptions made by the management of each of Keyera and Kinder Morgan respectively relating to, among other things, each party’s business, the environment in which each operates and the future operations and performance of the assets. As these forward-looking statements depend upon future events, actual outcomes may differ materially depending on factors such as: obtaining all necessary governmental approvals for the Alberta Crude Terminal, proposed pipelines and the associated facilities; future operating results of the assets; ability execute strategic initiatives; construction and input costs; weather conditions; construction scheduling variables; commodity supply/demand balances and prices; activities of producers, competitors, customers, business partners and others; overall economic conditions; access to capital and financing alternatives; operational risks; and potential delays or changes in plans with respect to development projects or capital expenditures or the results therefrom; the legislative, regulatory and tax environment; and other known or unknown factors. There can be no assurance that the results or developments anticipated by either Keyera or Kinder Morgan will be realized or that they will have the expected consequences for or effects.