Par Pacific acquires US Oil & Refining’s Tacoma refinery, assets

Par Pacific Holdings Inc. has completed its previously announced deal to purchase privately held US Oil & Refining Co.’s downstream assets, including the 42,000-b/sd refinery near Tacoma, Wash. (OGJ Online, Nov. 30, 2018).

Par Pacific finalized the transaction—which was financed with proceeds from a $250-million term loan B issuance, a $45-million Par Pacific term loan funded by Bank of Hawaii, the issuance of about 2.4 million shares of Par Pacific common stock to the seller of US Oil, and available liquidity—for total consideration of $358 million plus net working capital on Jan. 14, the operator said.

Alongside the Tacoma refinery—which has the flexibility to optimize its crude slate (over 95% of which currently consists of discounted Bakken and Cold Lake crudes) based on market conditions—the acquisition will include the following US Oil logistics assets connecting to Bakken, Canadian, and Alaskan crude, as well as to Pacific, West Coast, Pacific Northwest, and Rockies product markets:

• 2.9 million bbl of refined product and crude oil storage capacity.

• A proprietary 14-mile jet fuel pipeline.

• A marine terminal with 15 acres of waterfront property.

• A unit train rail-loading terminal with 107 unloading spots.

• A truck rack with six truck lanes and 10 loading arms.

Part of the operator’s more than 3-year strategic growth plan to expand its US mainland refining and logistics presence, Par Pacific previously said the proposed transaction will connect its existing assets in Hawaii—which includes the 94,000-b/sd Ewa Beach refinery on Kapolei, a logistics system supplying the major islands of the state, and 91 retail outlet locations—the Pacific Northwest, and Rockies to create an integrated downstream network with enhanced scale and diversification.

The acquisition also leaves Par Pacific geographically and logistically well-positioned to further source discounted Western Canadian and Bakken crudes, the company said.

Closing of the US Oil transaction follows Par Pacific’s December 2018 completion of its purchase of select now-idled Kapolei refinery assets from Island Energy Services LLC, which announced it would cease processing operations at the refinery in August 2018 (OGJ Online, Aug. 31, 2018).

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].