Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) agreed to purchase three terminals and one undeveloped site from Netherlands-based Royal Vopak NV for about $158 million, the company said in a Feb. 9 statement. The three terminals and site are located in Galena Park, Texas, North Wilmington, N.C., and South Wilmington, N.C., and the land is located in Perth Amboy, N.J.

In Galena Park, KMI will acquire a 36-acre, 1-million-barrel (MMbbl) storage complex with the capacity to handle base oils, biodiesel and crude oil, adjacent to its Galena Park terminal complex. KMI’s current holdings at its 415-acre Galena Park complex include 7.5 MMbbl of storage, four ship docks and four barge docks. With this acquisition, investment bank Simmons & Co. International expects KMI’s storage capacity on the Houston Ship Channel to increase by about 1.1 MMbbl to more than 45 MMbbl.

In North Carolina, KMI’s acquisitions will include one terminal in South Wilmington, which was idled in October 2013 and has not operated since then, and one terminal in North Wilmington with a storage capacity of about 131,000 cubic meters. The North Wilmington terminal handles biofuels, chemicals, liquid fertilizer, petroleum products and vegetable oils and has barge, rail, truck and vessel access. Simmons & Co. director Mark Reichman said in its Morning Energy Note that combined, the acquisitions will increase KMI’s liquids storage capacity by about 2.2 MMbbl to 138 MMbbl in North America, and will add 115 storage tanks. They will also increase KMI’s dock capacity on the Houston Ship Channel and in Wilmington.

While there is no terminal at the New Jersey site, the plot of land included in the acquisition has waterfront access that can be developed.

“While not a major acquisition in the context of its size relative to KMI’s asset base,” Reichman said the transaction is still positive for the company as it “strengthens KMI’s already formidable competitive position in the terminal storage business, particularly along the Houston Ship Channel, and provides further expansion opportunities.”

The transaction is subject to customary approvals and is expected to close during the first quarter. KMI expects it will be immediately accretive to earnings.

“After closing, this transaction will further solidify Kinder Morgan’s position as the largest independent terminal operator in North America,” said John Schlosser, Kinder Morgan Terminals president.

KMI owns an interest in or operates about 80,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, CO2 and other products, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals, and handle bulk materials like coal and petroleum coke. The company has an enterprise value of more than $125 billion.

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