Sunoco Logistics Partners reports earnings for the first quarter 2012

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (SXL)  on May 2 announced net income attributable to owners for the first quarter 2012 of $95 million ($0.77 per unit diluted), compared with $48 million ($0.36 per unit diluted) for the first quarter 2011.

Highlights of the first quarter include:

n  Adjusted EBITDA of $161 million.

n  Record distributable cash flow of $122 million.

n  Completed two open seasons for crude pipeline projects in West Texas.

"Demand for our services and assets remained high on continued strong interest for West Texas crude," said Michael J. Hennigan, president and chief executive officer. "Market opportunities within our crude oil business contributed to another excellent quarter."

Commenting on the Partnership's previously announced West Texas crude expansion projects, Hennigan said, "With successful open seasons for our West Texas-Houston and West Texas-Longview projects behind us, we stand ready to meet customer needs now and in the future. An additional open season for our West Texas-Nederland project is currently under way and we are encouraged by the interest we've seen to date. These projects, collectively totaling approximately 110 thousand barrels per day, demonstrate that our attractively positioned assets can bring Permian Basin crude to markets where it makes sense for customers."

Discussing additional organic growth initiatives for the Partnership, Hennigan said, "From an NGL perspective, our Mariner West project, the first ethane pipeline solution in the Marcellus area, is on schedule for a mid-2013 start-up. We are still confident in a Mariner East project as our ability to access waterborne markets will be important as Marcellus and Utica production continues to grow."

In April 2012, Sunoco, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. The transaction is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter 2012, subject to approval by Sunoco shareholders and customary regulatory approvals.

 Martin Midstream Partners reports earnings increase in 2012 first quarter

Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (MMLP) on May 2 announced first-quarter earnings per share of $0.40 versus an estimated $0.39 per share, beating estimates by 2.6 percent.

Revenues came in at $338.3M versus an estimated $305.04million, beating by 10.9 percent.

Net income for the first quarter of 2011 was $7.3 million, or $0.31 per limited partner unit. Revenues for the first quarter of 2012 were $338.3 million compared to $283.0 million for the first quarter of 2011.

For the quarter ended March 31,  net income was not impacted by non-cash derivative losses. For the first quarter of 2011, net income was impacted negatively by $0.5 million, or $0.02 per limited partner unit, in non-cash derivatives net losses from certain commodity and interest rate hedges that are subject to mark-to-market accounting.

The Partnership's distributable cash flow for the first quarter of 2012 was $22.8 million.

Ruben Martin, president and chief executive officer of Martin Midstream GP LLC, the general partner of Martin Midstream Partners, said, "We are pleased with the Partnership's first quarter financial performance. For the quarter we earned distributable cash flow of approximately $22.8 million and a strong distribution coverage ratio of 1.17 times. The Partnership benefitted from stronger than expected performance in our Sulfur Services Segment as our fertilizer and molten sulfur divisions continued their positive momentum and strong margin levels we saw in the fourth quarter last year. Operationally, our fertilizer production units are running at very high levels of utilization that coincides with strong customer demand for our product offerings.”

On April 24, Martin Midstream declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.7625 per unit for the quarter ended March 31. This quarterly distribution remains unchanged from the distribution paid in the prior quarter. The distribution is payable on May 15 to common unitholders of record as of the close of business on May 8. The ex-dividend date for the cash distribution is May 4, 2012. 

MarkWest Energy Partners increases quarterly cash distribution to $0.79

MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: MWE) on April 26 declared a cash distribution of $0.79 per common unit for the first quarter of 2012, for an implied annual rate of $3.16 per common unit. The first quarter 2012 distribution represents an increase of $0.12 per common unit, or 17.9 percent, compared to the first quarter 2011 distribution and an increase of $0.03 per common unit, or 4.0 percent, compared to the fourth quarter 2011 distribution.

Blueknight  to  build 65-mile pipeline, provide crude oil service for XTO Energy

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P. (BKEP) on May 1 announced plans to construct a crude oil pipeline as part of a long-term transportation agreement with XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corp.

BKEP will build a 65-mile pipeline from southern Oklahoma to Wynnewood, Okla., where it will intersect with an existing BKEP pipeline. The pipeline will transport committed XTO crude oil production from the Woodford Shale area in Southern Oklahoma to BKEP's crude oil terminal in Cushing, Okla.

"We're pleased to have the opportunity to provide XTO with an efficient and reliable way to transport their crude oil production from the Woodford Shale to the market hub in Cushing…” said J. Michael Cockrell, Blueknight Energy Partners' president and chief operating officer.

BKEP expects construction of the new pipeline and associated enhancements to its Oklahoma mainline system to begin this quarter with completion targeted early-mid 2013 at an approximate total cost of $37 million.

Cheniere Energy Partners reports lower revenue, declares quarterly distributions

Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE Amex: CQP) on April 20 declared (i) a cash distribution per common unit of $0.425 ($1.70 annualized) to unitholders of record as of May 2, and (ii) the related distribution to its general partner. All distributions are payable on May 13.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2011, Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. reported a net loss of $2.2 million, or $(0.01) per common unit, compared with net income of $58.8 million, or $0.36 per common unit, for the same period in 2010.

For the quarter ended March 31, affiliate revenues decreased $59.2 million, primarily as a result of the assignment of the terminal use agreement (TUA) from Cheniere Marketing, LLC to Cheniere Energy Investments, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary.

Cheniere Partners reported income from operations of $41.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, compared to income from operations of $101.7 million for the comparable 2010 period.

Total revenues for the quarter ended March 31 were $74.5 million compared to revenues of $130.8 million for the comparable 2010 period. Revenues primarily include capacity payments received from customers and incremental revenues from tug services and re-export fees.

Revenues from affiliates for the quarter ended March 31 decreased by $59.2 million when compared to the comparable 2010 period due to the assignment of Cheniere Marketing's TUA to Cheniere Investments, partially offset by revenues from the variable capacity rights agreement (VCRA) with Cheniere Marketing.