TEPPCO specializes in the transportation, storage, gathering and marketing of oil and gas, and operates some of the largest common carrier pipelines in the United States.

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Diversity is the key strength for Houston-based TEPPCO Partners LP . Founded in 1990, the company specializes in the transportation, storage, gathering and marketing of oil and gas, and operates some of the largest common carrier pipelines in the United States. It continues to grow through acquisitions, as well as its ventures into related industries.

The midstream, upstream and downstream segments that comprise the partnership’s core businesses feature a “well-established base of diversified assets that are strategically positioned to serve key energy markets,” TEPPCO says. “In addition, TEPPCO’s business model focuses on fee-based cash flow with limited commodity exposure and disciplined growth that complement its existing assets and core competencies.”

In 2000, the company completed construction of three petrochemical pipelines between Mont Belvieu and Port Arthur, Texas, which marked its entry into the petrochemical business. Shortly thereafter, it acquired the Panola NGL Pipeline and the assets of ARCO Pipe Line Co., whose assets included those of Seaway Crude Pipeline Co., a joint venture between TEPPCO and ConocoPhilips.

TEPPCO acquired Jonah Gas Gathering Co. in 2001 and the Chaparral and Quanah NGL pipelines in 2002, the same year it commissioned the Centennial Pipeline, which stretches 795 miles from the upper Texas Gulf Coast to Illinois. In 2003, it acquired crude supply and transportation assets along the upper Texas Gulf Coast from Genesis Pipeline Texas.     It then formed Mont Belvieu Storage Partners, a joint venture with Louis Dreyfus Energy Services. As required by the Federal Trade Commission, the company divested those assets in 2006 after EPCO Inc. acquired TEPPCO’s general partner in 2005.

In February 2008, TEPPCO announced its entrance into the marine transportation business through its purchase of assets from Cenac Towing and Cenac Offshore. Its subsidiary, TEPPCO Marine Services, has acquired 42 push boats, 89 barges and “the economic benefit of certain related agreements for total consideration of approximately $500 million,” the company reports. It will service refineries and storage terminals along the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio rivers, as well as the Intracoastal Waterway between Florida and Texas.

Marine Transportation
“This acquisition, while creating an entirely new business segment for TEPPCO, is a natural extension of our existing assets and complements two of our core franchise businesses: the transportation of storage of refined products and the gathering, transportation and storage of crude oil,” President and CEO Jerry E. Thompson said in a statement. “Barge transportation services for our refined products and crude oil continue to be in high demand, and our acquisition of these attractive assets from one of the premier operators in the industry builds on our integrated value chain strategy and broadens the scope of logistics services we are able to provide our customers.”

TEPPCO says it has been developing a network of product distribution terminals along the nation’s waterways that will “complement and integrate” its newly purchased assets. For instance, the company’s Aberdeen, Miss., terminal features 130,000 barrels of storage capacity for gasoline and diesel. It is also constructing a 500,000-barrel terminal in Boligee, Ala., that will receive products from Colonial Pipeline.

“In addition to providing TEPPCO with an excellent entry point into the marine transportation business, we expect this transaction to be immediately accretive to distributable cash flow,” Thompson said.  “Going forward, we expect this business to provide the partnership with earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation of approximately $50 million to $60 million. The combination of our strong financial position and the sizable equity component of the consideration gives TEPPCO a great deal of flexibility in how we permanently finance the remainder of our consideration.”

“While TEPPCO continues to pursue attractive opportunities beyond traditional areas of operation, the core business segments that have been the foundation of the partnership ... will continue to play a vital role in its ... growth plans,” the company says.

Social Responsibility
“TEPPCO has a long history of service to the communities where we live and work,” it says. “The company contributes to those activities, organizations and programs which best reflect the philanthropic interests and responsibilities of TEPPCO.”