The Permian Basin may be the sole U.S. shale oil play charging ahead through this downcycle, but The Netherlands-based Vitol Group has decided to pull out.
Vitol agreed to sell its Permian crude oil system, including its 50% interest in SunVit Pipeline LLC, to Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (NYSE: SXL) for $760 million on Sept. 26. Other components of the deal include a 2 million barrel (MMbbl) crude oil terminal in Midland, Texas, and crude inventories related to Vitol’s West Texas purchasing and marketing operations.
Sunoco’s acquisition of SunVit gives it total control of the pipeline, which connects the Midland terminal to its Permian Express 2 Pipeline. That line, with capacity to move 200 Mbbl/d, was shut down after leaking 800 bbl at Sweetwater, Texas, but was expected to restart soon, Reuters reported.
“Sunoco Logistics has a strong strategic position in West Texas and we are confident that they will provide excellent service to customers of the Vitol system,” Mike Loya, Vitol’s president for the Americas, said in a statement.
Vitol, advised by Simmons & Co. International in this transaction, is a global energy and commodities trader that trades more than 6 MMbbl of crude products a year. It announced a shift toward a more cautious strategy earlier this year, anticipating that market conditions would not improve as quickly as previously believed.
The company’s revenue tumbled by more than $100 billion in 2015 to $168 billion and is 45.3% off its 2013 peak of $307 billion.
Sunoco will partly fund the deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, with 21 million common units. The company’s general partners, Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP) and Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE: ETE), will take a $60 million cut in their partnership remuneration over two years in connection with the purchase.
Joseph Markman can be reached at jmarkman@hartenergy.com or @JHMarkman.
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