In a presentation scheduled for a Wells Fargo investment conference tomorrow, management will talk about an ongoing project to transform an Albany, N.Y., terminal to handle the North Dakota crude via rail and ship.

The presentation will also mention plans to dedicate some space at Perth Amboy, N.J., that could ultimately be a ferrying point for Bakken to move to Middle Atlantic refineries. Buckeye is one of the oldest master limited partnerships with a market capitalization figure of about $5 billion, and it has been one of the most acquisitive companies of the present decade. 

The company has some 6,000 miles of domestic pipeline with about 100 product terminals capable of storing 41 million bbl.

It also has some 28 million bbl of Caribbean storage, thanks to its purchase of BORCO in Freeport, Bahamas, in 2011 as well as storage in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. The most recent deal, which raised some eyebrows in logistics circles earlier this year, saw Buckeye pay $260 million for a Perth Amboy, N.J., marine terminal and associated acreage from Chevron.

Plans call for transforming the facility into a multi-product storage, blending and throughput facility, but until now, there had been no mention of Bakken crude.

Buckeye has already earmarked $200 million to $250 million in expenses into 2015, in a transaction that is at least partially supported by multi-year storage, blending and throughput commitments from Chevron.

Documents in the presentation note that Perth Amboy is “well suited” for handling rail.    

The company still believes that the Perth Amboy terminal could be a strategic nexus for products imports and even exports. Slides in the corporate presentation mention the “long term challenges” that Northeast oil refiners face, as well as the likelihood that product from global refiners will come to the New York Harbor.

But other observers have questioned the Perth Amboy acquisition, noting that runs of cheaper Bakken crude and other oil shale varieties have switched the advantage to stateside refiners, and augur for lower imports down the road.  

Buckeye is also excited about its Caribbean operations, and suggests that the BORCO facility (the acronym stands for Bahamas Oil Refining Company) will be the “logical and optimum spot” for what amounts to a “bunker filling station” once the Panama Canal expansion is finished in 2014.

The larger canal will allow passage of Suezmax vessels, and their bunkering needs could account for a 20%-30% increase in bunker needs in the region. Despite the internal and external expenses, Buckeye management talk of further growth, noting the opportunity to acquire more assets from major petroleum companies.    

The MLP does appear to have optimized its purchase of some 33 terminals from BP in June 2011. While multi-year throughput agreements from the major give it guaranteed streams of income, Buckeye cites sales growth of 13.1% since the closing. It has secured 32 new third-party terminal customers for the Midwestern, southeastern and West Coast assets. Belton, S.C., and Fairfax, Va., are given as examples of robust throughput growth.   

There is even some mention of capitalizing on Utica Shale growth this decade. The partnership has a broad footprint of pipeline and terminal assets in Ohio, where most Utica Shale output will be sourced, and notes that it is poised to be the area’s key logistic provider.