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Sugar Land, TX – Rangeland Energy, LLC (“Rangeland”) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the company to Inergy Midstream, L.P. (NYSE: NRGM) (“Inergy Midstream”) for $425 million. Rangeland is the owner and operator of the COLT system, the largest open-access crude oil distribution hub in North Dakota. The COLT system includes a large crude oil rail loading terminal in Williams County, North Dakota, and related storage and pipeline assets. The transaction is expected to close in early December.  

Founded in 2009, Rangeland is a midstream energy company led by an experienced management team and backed by private equity commitments from EnCap Flatrock Midstream of San Antonio. Rangeland’s management team will retain the company name and continue to pursue midstream development opportunities across North America. 

Citi served as Rangeland’s sole financial advisor for the transaction with Jones Day providing legal counsel.

The COLT system is strategically located in the heart of the prolific Bakken and Three Forks shale oil producing region. The system’s components include the COLT Hub, the COLT Connector and the Dry Fork Terminal. The COLT Hub serves as a point of liquidity for the distribution of Bakken crude oil throughout North American markets by providing customers with crude oil storage and connectivity to BNSF Railway Company and various inbound and outbound pipeline systems.  The terminal was placed in service in early May 2012. The COLT Hub serves crude oil refiners, marketers and producers and has contracted aggregate volume commitments of approximately 150,000 barrels of crude per day.  The COLT Connector is a 21-mile bidirectional pipeline that connects the COLT Hub to the Enbridge and Tesoro pipelines at Rangeland’s terminal at Dry Fork near the Beaver Lodge/Ramberg junction, the Banner gathering system and a planned connection to the Bear Tracker Energy gathering system. 
 

CEO Perspectives
“This is an exciting day for both companies. It’s also a great day for the crude oil industry in the Bakken, which will be well served by Inergy’s dynamic new presence in the play,” said Rangeland CEO Chris Keene. “Inergy’s CEO, John Sherman, and the rest of his very seasoned leadership team have the experience and desire to serve our current customers with distinction and aggressively grow the business we’ve developed at COLT. We started with a piece of paper and a vision and now, just three years later, COLT is well positioned to be the premier crude oil terminal in the Bakken.  I’m very proud of what the Rangeland team has accomplished in North Dakota in a very short period of time. The scope, quality and efficiency of the storage, rail and pipeline facilities we’ve put in place are unparalleled in the market.

“We are also pleased with the results we’ve produced for EnCap Flatrock’s investors. EnCap Flatrock has been a great equity partner, bringing midstream expertise to the table and providing the financial strength we needed to develop COLT. Through this ongoing relationship, Rangeland Energy is well positioned and funded to continue developing and growing its business in other emerging regions,” Keene said.

“We look forward to welcoming Rangeland’s customers and the highly talented employees at COLT into the Inergy family. The COLT assets provide Inergy with a solid position in this prolific region and are a great complement to our existing midstream operations,” said Inergy Chairman and CEO John J. Sherman.

COLT System Specifics
Construction of the COLT Hub began in May 2011.  With six 120,000-barrel storage tanks and two 8,700-foot rail loops, the COLT Hub accommodates large 120-car unit trains and is capable of moving more than 120,000 barrels of crude oil per day out of the Bakken Shale.  The COLT Connector, a 21-mile bidirectional pipeline connects the COLT Hub to Rangeland’s terminal at Dry Fork near the Beaver Lodge/Ramberg junction. The COLT Connector is capable of transporting an additional 70,000 barrels per day by pipeline.  The COLT system serves four large crude oil refiners/marketers including Tesoro Corporation and Flint Hills Resources. Rangeland has inbound gathering connection agreements with Bear Tracker Energy, the Hiland Crude Market Center and the Tesoro High Plains Pipeline as well as outbound connections with Enbridge and Tesoro at its terminal near Beaver Lodge/Ramberg.

Under terms of the agreement, all of the Rangeland employees working in North Dakota will be invited to work for Inergy. The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory filings and approvals.

About Rangeland Energy, LLC
Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Rangeland Energy, LLC was formed in 2009 to focus on developing, acquiring, owning and operating infrastructure for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.  The company’s primary focus has been in North Dakota and other growing oil and gas shale producing areas.  The Rangeland team represents more than 100 years of combined midstream experience and is backed by an equity commitment from EnCap Flatrock Midstream.

About EnCap Flatrock Midstream
Based in San Antonio, EnCap Flatrock Midstream provides value-added private equity capital to proven management teams focusing on midstream energy infrastructure opportunities throughout North America. EnCap Flatrock is led by Managing Partners William D. Waldrip, William R. Lemmons Jr. and Dennis F. Jaggi. With more than 100 years of midstream experience, the principals at EnCap Flatrock Midstream manage investment commitments of nearly $3 billion from a broad group of prestigious institutional investors.