HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) today announced the
closing of an agreement with Crowley Maritime Corporation to purchase
two Jones Act tankers for approximately $270 million. The MT
Pennsylvania and the MT Florida engage in the marine transportation of
crude oil, condensate and refined products in the United States,
commonly referred to as the Jones Act trade, and are currently operating
pursuant to multi-year charters with a major integrated oil company. The
vessels each have approximately 330,000 barrels of cargo capacity and
will join Kinder Morgan’s existing fleet of five operating tankers. The
company previously commissioned the construction of an additional five
tankers, which are expected to be delivered between 2015 and 2017.
Crowley, a leading operator and technical manager in the U.S. product
tanker industry, will continue to operate the vessels. The transaction
is expected to be immediately accretive to cash available to KMP
unitholders upon closing, which is expected to be effective Nov. 1.
“Kinder Morgan’s continued expansion into the Jones Act tanker market
demonstrates our commitment to provide customers with a variety of safe
and efficient means to store and transport crude, petroleum products and
chemicals,” said John Schlosser, president of KMP’s Terminals segment.
“We are delighted to expand our relationship with Crowley, a premier
provider of marine transportation services.”
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 approximately 52,000 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 $120 billion. It owns an interest in or operates
approximately 80,000 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 news release includes forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and
are based on the beliefs and assumptions of management, based on
information currently available to them. Although Kinder Morgan
believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, it can give no assurance that such assumptions will
materialize. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements herein
include those enumerated in Kinder Morgan’s reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date they were made, and except to the extent
required by law, Kinder Morgan undertakes no obligation to update or
review any forward-looking statement because of new information, future
events or other factors. Because of these uncertainties, readers
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.