HOUSTON, June 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Buckeye Partners, L.P. (NYSE:BPL) (“Buckeye”) announced that today Buckeye Pipe Line Company, L.P. (“Buckeye Pipe Line”), one of Buckeye’s operating subsidiaries, reached a settlement resolving all complaints filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) by Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, United/Continental Air Lines, and US Airways/American Airlines (“Airlines”) challenging Buckeye Pipe Line’s rates for transportation of jet fuel from New Jersey to three New York City area airports. “We are pleased to enter into this agreement, resolve these longstanding issues, and commit to improvements that will likely enhance the utilization of our pipeline systems to these airports,” said Clark C. Smith, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
In resolving the complaints, Buckeye Pipe Line has agreed to reduce its jet fuel rates prospectively and make settlement payments to the Airlines to close pending litigation. The prospective reduction in rates will not have a material impact on Buckeye’s operating results. Under the settlement, Buckeye also agrees to install facilities to increase the flexibility and capacity of its system in shipping jet fuel to John F. Kennedy International Airport, and provides for a mechanism for compensation for that investment. Further, the settlement resolves the Airlines’ challenges to an application by Buckeye Pipe Line for market-based rate authority in the New York City market. Buckeye will withdraw its application as to the New York City area airports but proceed with its application for the balance of the New York City market destinations. Buckeye Pipe Line and the Airlines have submitted the settlement to the FERC for approval. FERC action on the submission is likely to occur in the third quarter of 2015.
About Buckeye Partners, L.P.
Buckeye Partners, L.P. (NYSE:BPL) is a publicly traded master limited partnership and owns and operates a diversified network of integrated assets providing midstream logistic solutions, primarily consisting of the transportation, storage, and marketing of liquid petroleum products. Buckeye is one of the largest independent liquid petroleum products pipeline operators in the United States in terms of volumes delivered with approximately 6,000 miles of pipeline and more than 120 liquid petroleum products terminals with aggregate storage capacity of over 110 million barrels across our portfolio of pipelines, inland terminals and an integrated network of marine terminals located primarily in the East Coast and Gulf Coast regions of the United States and in the Caribbean. Buckeye has a controlling interest in a company with a vertically integrated system of marine midstream assets in Corpus Christi and the Eagle Ford play in Texas. Buckeye’s flagship marine terminal, BORCO, is in The Bahamas and is one of the largest marine crude oil and refined petroleum products storage facilities in the world and provides an array of logistics and blending services for the global flow of petroleum products. Buckeye’s network of marine terminals enables it to facilitate global flows of crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other commodities, and to offer its customers connectivity to some of the world’s most important bulk storage and blending hubs. Buckeye is also a wholesale distributor of refined petroleum products in areas served by its pipelines and terminals. Finally, Buckeye also operates and/or maintains third-party pipelines under agreements with major oil and gas, petrochemical and chemical companies, and performs certain engineering and construction management services for third parties. More information concerning Buckeye can be found at www.buckeye.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statements that we believe to be reasonable as of today’s date. Such statements are identified by use of the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” and similar expressions. Actual results may differ significantly because of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and that may be beyond our control. Among them are (i) changes in federal, state, local, and foreign laws or regulations to which we are subject, including those governing pipeline tariff rates and those that permit the treatment of us as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, (ii) terrorism and other security risks, including cyber risk, adverse weather conditions, including hurricanes, environmental releases, and natural disasters, (iii) changes in the marketplace for our products or services, such as increased competition, better energy efficiency, or general reductions in demand, (iv) adverse regional, national, or international economic conditions, adverse capital market conditions, and adverse political developments, (v) shutdowns or interruptions at our pipeline, terminal, and storage assets or at the source points for the products we transport, store, or sell, (vi) unanticipated capital expenditures in connection with the construction, repair, or replacement of our assets, (vii) volatility in the price of liquid petroleum products, (viii) nonpayment or nonperformance by our customers, (ix) our ability to integrate acquired assets with our existing assets and to realize anticipated cost savings and other efficiencies and benefits, (x) our inability to realize the expected benefits of the Buckeye Texas Partners transaction, and (xi) our ability to successfully complete our organic growth projects and to realize the anticipated financial benefits. You should read our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, for a more extensive list of factors that could affect results. We undertake no obligation to revise our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after today’s date.