Buckeye Partners L.P. operates refined products pipelines and provides terminal and storage services.

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Being independent allows Buckeye Partners L.P. to focus on customer service, it says, unlike some competitors who are affiliated with major oil and energy companies. “We are more flexible in responding to needs,” Senior Manager of Investor Relations Steve Milbourne insists. “Scheduling changes, for example – if there is a service or need that a customer has, we work hard to accommodate.”

The company operates refined product pipelines mainly in the Northeast and Midwest, and provides terminal and storage services in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Its pipelines transport products such as gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, heating oil and kerosene.

Buckeye is a service-oriented company, Milbourne says. “To be successful, you have to provide what customers need,” he says. “We go the extra mile to make sure we accommodate customers’ needs.”

Although smaller than many of the companies it serves, Buckeye considers itself as an industry leader, Milbourne says. It uses a state-of-the-art System Control and Data Acquisition computer system to operate and monitor its pipeline system, and is focused on complying with environmental requirements and safety. “Last year, we had zero lost-work days, and that is a record we are proud of,” he says. “We have, over time, intensified our focus on safety.

“We look for best safety practices and seek to improve policies and procedures,” he adds. For example, the company stresses that every job should be performed safely and every incident should be analyzed to ensure it will not happen again.

“We are constantly evaluating the best possible way to do our jobs safely,” he says. “This is an area we seek to constantly improve. We want not only to meet the minimum statutory requirements, we want to implement the best practices.”

Business Segments
The company traces its roots to the Buckeye Pipe Line Co. founded in 1886 by John D. Rockefeller to transport crude oil to his refineries in Ohio. It went through several ownership changes, finally becoming a publicly traded master limited partnership in 1986. Today, the company has five business segments:

n Pipelining
n Terminal facilities
n Operations and  maintenance
n Natural gas storage
n Refined products marketing

Buckeye has several joint ventures and minority interests. It owns 25 percent equity interest in West Shore Pipe Line Co., a refined products pipeline system that starts in Chicago and extends to Green Bay and Madison, Wis.

It also owns a 20 percent interest in West Texas LPG Pipeline LP, a natural gas liquids pipeline system that delivers natural gas liquids to Mont Belvieu, Texas.

Employee-Friendly
The company’s mission is to provide quality petroleum transportation services that are safe, environmentally responsible, reliable and cost effective, it says. To accomplish that mission, it is committed to employing people who value service and continuous improvement.

Buckeye is proud of its 950-person work force, Milbourne says. “We are an employee-friendly company,” he says. Because it is a smaller company, employees feel they can make an impact, see the results of their work and be recognized for their work, as well as be known as individuals, he adds.

“We seek to attract and retain the best,” Milbourne says. “We want employees who have the technical skills necessary, and we want people who are extremely dependable and reliable, and are focused on serving customers’ needs.”

Growth Opportunities
Milbourne says acquisitions are a major part of Buckeye’s growth strategy. “When we look at [the past five years], we’ve made significant acquisitions of pipelines and terminals,” he states.
In October 2004, the company acquired five refined products pipelines and 24 petroleum products terminals in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio from Shell Oil Products. It was the largest acquisition in the company’s history, Buckeye says.

In May 2005, it purchased a major pipeline system and interest in five associated products terminals from ExxonMobil Corp.

In January, Buckeye acquired the 22 bcf natural gas storage facility in California, and in February, it acquired Farm & Oil Co., a regional supplier of energy products in Pennsylvania.
“All the acquisitions that have been made are energy logistics or service companies,” Milbourne says. “They are typically in refined products or natural gas.”