Central Energy Partners LP, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Regional Enterprises, Inc. (Regional), provides liquid bulk storage, trans-loading and transportation services for hazardous chemicals and petroleum products.
Operations
The principal business of Regional is the storage, transportation and railcar trans-loading of bulk liquids, including hazardous chemicals and petroleum products owned by its customers. Regional’s facilities are located on the James River in Hopewell, Virginia, w...
Central Energy Partners LP, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Regional Enterprises, Inc. (Regional), provides liquid bulk storage, trans-loading and transportation services for hazardous chemicals and petroleum products.
Operations
The principal business of Regional is the storage, transportation and railcar trans-loading of bulk liquids, including hazardous chemicals and petroleum products owned by its customers. Regional’s facilities are located on the James River in Hopewell, Virginia, where it receives bulk chemicals and petroleum products from ships and barges into approximately 10 million gallons of available storage tanks. Regional also receives product from a rail spur, which is capable of receiving 23 rail cars at any 1 time for trans-loading of chemical and petroleum liquids into trucks for delivery throughout the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The hazardous materials and petroleum products stored, trans-loaded and transported by Regional are owned by its customers at all times.
Hauling
Regional transports a range of hazardous and non-hazardous liquid products. Hazardous liquids stored and/or transported by the company include aluminum sulfate solution, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, aqua ammonia, sodium bisulfate and fuel blends. Non-hazardous materials include crude tall oil, No. 2 oil, No. 6 oil, asphalt additives, micro-c and vacuum gas oil. Regional’s transportation services are provided within the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
As of December 31, 2014, Regional had a fleet of 15 leased tractors, 5 owned tractors and 36 tanker units dedicated to its transportation services. The majority of the tanker units are constructed of stainless steel, with 11 being rubber or chlorobutyl lined, which enables them to carry the toughest corrosives. The tanker fleet also includes four aluminum-constructed petroleum tankers with vapor recovery systems.
Storage
Regional’s Hopewell facility has a total of 15 tanks, 6 of which have capacities in excess of 1 million gallons (Large Tanks). As of December 31, 2014, 11 tanks were contracted by customers, including all but 1 of the Large Tanks. Two tanks are being used by Regional to store truck and boiler fuel. The 11 tanks contracted by customers and the 2 idle tanks had a combined storage capacity of approximately 10.2 million gallons and the 2 tanks being utilized by the company have a capacity of 10,702 gallons each as of December 31, 2014.
As of December 31, 2014, Regional provided storage for various products under existing contracts, such as asphalt, asphalt additives, sodium hydroxide, and micro-c. Regional also stored sodium hydroxide, sodium bisulfate, sulfuric acid and crude tall oil in tank cars at its rail siding.
Port Facility
Regional’s port is located 75 miles upriver from the port of Hampton Roads. The draft of the location is 24 feet at mean low water, and the turning basin is approximately 600 feet. The company’s loading dock is parallel to the main shipping channel of the James River with berthing dolphin clusters approximately 210 feet apart. Mooring dolphins are also available for vessels approximately 600 feet in length. The facility could handle one vessel at a time. The loading dock is served by two 6-inch and one 10-inch steel pipeline connecting the dock to various tanks in the facility.
Trans-loading
Regional provides trans-loading services utilizing its rail sidings, off-loading facilities and truck racks located in Hopewell, Virginia, to transfer products from ships, barges, railcars and storage tanks to tanker trucks. Regional owns the siding tracks and has 23 railcar slots at its Hopewell facility, with Norfolk Southern conducting switching operations. The siding tracks and railcar slots are accessed through an open-access switch owned by the city of Hopewell and served by Norfolk Southern and CSX.
Customers
Regional’s customers lease storage space for hazardous chemicals and petroleum products and/or utilize the company’s transportation and trans-loading services. For the year ended December 31, 2014, Suffolk Sales; Associated Asphalt Hopewell, LLC; and MeadWestvaco Specialty Chemicals, Inc. accounted for approximately 21%, 20%, and 16% of Regional’s revenues, respectively. Honeywell International, Inc. accounted for approximately 3% of Regional’s revenues.
Strategy
The company’s strategy going forward continues to be organic growth at Regional (to the extent of available free cash) and the possible acquisition of midstream oil and gas assets, such as gas gathering and transmission systems, compression, treating and processing facilities and facilities. The company’s strategies are to focus on the midstream business and pursue organic growth opportunities.
Government Regulation
Regional is subject to the Compliance, Safety and Accountability Safety Measurement System of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which was fully implemented in 2010 to enforce the current motor carrier safety regulations of the United States Department of Transportation.
Regional has also been subject to cargo security and transportation regulations issued by the Transportation Security Administration and regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In addition, the company’s operations are subject to oversight and regulation by various federal agencies, including the United State Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of Labor, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the United States Army Corp of Engineers.
To comply with regulatory requirements imposed by federal, state and local government authorities, Regional maintains various permits, licenses and registrations with applicable federal, state and local administrative agencies, including the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Department, and the Kentucky Highway Department.
The company is in substantial compliance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. Regional is subject to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and comparable state statutes that regulate the protection of the health and safety of its employees. Regional is registered as a ‘small business’ with the federal government and has completed its Online Representations and Certifications Application registration.
Regional is subject to various state regulatory schemes, including those created by the Virginia Waste Management Act, the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997, the Motor Vehicle Code of Virginia, and the regulations adopted by the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board.
Competition
Regional competes with A&R Logistics in the mid-Atlantic region. Allied Terminals in Norfolk, Virginia is a competitor for tank storage services; Atlantic Bulk Carriers, Quality Carriers, Oakley Logistics and Oakley Tank Lines, and Hillcrest Transportation provide tank truck hauling services in the region; and RSI Leasing Inc. (in Petersburg, Virginia) and CSX (in Richmond, Virginia) are competitors for rail trans-loading services.
History
Central Energy Partners LP was founded in 2003.
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