In industry vernacular, the sweet spot belongs to upstream, typically referring to areas of an oil or gas play where lots of money can be made.
But midstream MLPs have their own metaphorical sweet spot: the Alerian MLP Index. Tallgrass Energy Partners LP joined that exclusive club a year ago and finds it to its advantage.
“Being listed and being included in something like the Alerian Index gives them access to capital,” said Michael Underhill, founder and chief investment officer of Capital Innovations in Pewaukee, Wis., and author of “The Handbook of Infrastructure Investing.” “It puts them on the radar screen of not only individual investors but also institutional fund managers, like myself, and exchange-traded funds.”
Two recent deals—while they pale in comparison with EnLink Midstream LLC’s $1.55 billion acquisition of Tall Oak Midstream LLC assets in Oklahoma’s STACK and CNOW plays—never-the-less establish Tallgrass as a “have” in a year when many are destined to be defined as “have-nots.” The company showed it possessed access to capital and could spend $800 million at a time when the price of oil lingered in the $30s.
“What you’re seeing is an environment in which the assets aren’t stressed, it’s the sellers that are really distressed,” Underhill said. “Financially, they’ve overleveraged themselves and companies like Tallgrass that have access to capital can reinvest in the business and reinvest in their business at a time when a lot of other people are trying to stay in business.
The purchase of an additional 31.3% stake in the Tallgrass Pony Express Pipeline from Tallgrass Development LP gives the partnership control of 98% of the 760-mile line with a capacity of up to 320,000 barrels of crude per day from Wyoming to the Cushing, Okla., trading hub. The company also bought Whiting Petroleum Corp.’s fresh water delivery and storage system in the Niobrara Shale.
“I think they’re going to be growing,” Underhill said about Tallgrass, “but I think also that they are positioning themselves to be acquired in this environment.”
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