Blueknight Energy Partners Acquires Asphalt Facilities in Wilmington, N.C. and Dumfries, Va.; Enters into Long-Term Asphalt Contract Extension
Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P. ("BKEP" or the "Partnership") (NASDAQ:
BKEP) (NASDAQ:BKEPP), a midstream energy company focused on providing
integrated services for companies engaged in the production,
distribution and marketing of crude oil, asphalt and other petroleum
products, announced today that a wholly-owned subsidiary of BKEP has
acquired two asphalt terminalling facilities from Axeon Specialty
Products, located in Wilmington, N.C. and Dumfries, Va. In addition,
BKEP has entered into a long-term storage, throughput and handling
agreement with Axeon Marketing LLC (“Axeon”).
Axeon, or its predecessor, has been a customer of BKEP since 2009 and
currently leases other BKEP-owned facilities in the region. Axeon will
continue supplying various products and services to its existing
customer base out of the North Carolina and Virginia facilities. The
Wilmington, N.C., facility includes approximately 260,000 barrels of
asphalt storage and 70,000 barrels of light fuel storage with water
access. The Dumfries, Va., facility includes approximately 87,000
barrels of asphalt storage and 468,000 barrels of light fuel storage
with water access along with connections to Plantation Pipeline.
The transaction will be financed by borrowings under BKEP’s existing
credit facility and brings BKEP’s existing asphalt and residual oil
storage network to a total of 45 terminals located in 23 states.
“We highly value our relationship with Axeon and are pleased that we can
continue helping them service their customers by adding the Wilmington
and Dumfries locations to our existing asphalt terminal network. In
addition, we have entered into a new long term storage agreement which
also includes our existing terminals in Gloucester City, N.J., and
Newport News, Va.,” stated Mark Hurley, BKEP’s Chief Executive Officer.
“This transaction continues to build on BKEP’s strength of operating
product terminals and the new facilities will be incorporated into our
coast to coast terminal network. Business will continue as usual and we
expect to retain the current terminal employees. This transaction is
also expected to be immediately accretive to our unitholders” added
Hurley.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may include forward-looking statements. Statements included
in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks
and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, among other
things, uncertainties relating to the Partnership's future cash flows
and operations, the Partnership's ability to pay future distributions,
future market conditions, current and future governmental regulation,
future taxation and other factors discussed in the Partnership's filings
with the SEC. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, or
should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or
outcomes may vary materially from those expected. The Partnership
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
About Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P.
BKEP owns and operates a diversified portfolio of complementary
midstream energy assets consisting of approximately 7.7 million barrels
of crude oil storage located in Oklahoma and Texas, approximately 6.6
million barrels of which are located at the Cushing Oklahoma
Interchange, approximately 976 miles of crude oil pipeline located
primarily in Oklahoma and Texas, approximately 240 crude oil
transportation and oilfield services vehicles deployed in Kansas,
Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas and approximately 8.2 million
barrels of combined asphalt product and light fuel storage located at 45
terminals in 23 states. BKEP provides integrated services for companies
engaged in the production, distribution and marketing of crude oil,
asphalt and other petroleum products. BKEP is headquartered in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma. For more information, visit the Partnership's web site
at www.bkep.com.
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