Watco, Kinder Morgan partner on transload facilities

Watco Companies, LLC and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. have entered into an agreement where Kinder Morgan and Watco will construct and operate several rail transload facilities in key markets for loading and unloading crude oil along with many other commodities and products that are tied to the oil and gas industry. The network will consist of several key markets which include Dore, N.D., Stanley, N.D., Stroud, Okla., Houston, Texas and several strategic loading facilities in the Eagle Ford Shale area in south Texas. Each facility will have the capability of handling large unit train volumes along with manifest commodities such as frac sand, pipe and drilling supplies. The Dore, N.D., facility will include Pioneer Oil, LLC, headquartered in Billings, Mont., and will have over 10,000 feet of track in Phase 1 of the project along with warehousing for inside storage. The operational start date is September 1, 2011. Stroud will also house the capabilities of handling unit train volumes with a start date of October 1, 2011 and will provide customers direct access to Cushing, Okla. The other locations are still in the design phase and will be operational in the first quarter of 2012. "As companies like Watco and Kinder Morgan continue to invest in expanding transportation services for the oil and gas industry, they are also helping to boost the economies of these key markets," said Denis Smith, BNSF vice president, industrial products marketing. "We look forward to working with Watco and Kinder Morgan to serve this growing market." Kevin Goins, SVP and COO Watco Transload and Intermodal, said, "Our new network of transloads, in partnership with Kinder Morgan, will add significant new services to the changing market dynamics and we believe will provide tremendous value for customers by improving the way they move energy related commodities. We believe it will give our customers multiple options to ship by rail and provides them with a seamless solution from key production areas to key destinations."