Husky Energy acquires Wisconsin refinery

Nov. 9, 2017
Husky Energy Inc., Calgary, has completed its acquisition of Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP subsidiary Calumet Superior LLC’s 47,500-b/cd refinery in Superior, Wis., and other regional downstream assets.

Husky Energy Inc., Calgary, has completed its acquisition of Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP subsidiary Calumet Superior LLC’s 47,500-b/cd refinery in Superior, Wis., and other regional downstream assets (OGJ Online, Aug. 14, 2017).

As part of the transaction, which the parties finalized on Nov. 8, Husky paid a total consideration of $492 million, including the original sale price of $435 million as well as an additional $57 million for net working capital, inventories, and reimbursement of certain capital spending, according to separate releases from Calumet and Husky.

Alongside the refinery—which processes a mix of light and heavy crudes delivered to the plant via the Enbridge pipeline system from North Dakota’s Bakken shale formation and western Canada, which in 2016, included the following grades: North Dakota Sweet (e.g., Bakken), Superior Canadian Heavy, Canadian Synthetic, and Mixed Sweet Blend—Husky’s purchase includes:

• A combined 3.6 million bbl of crude-product storage.

• The proprietary pipeline connecting the refinery to the Magellan pipeline system.

• The on-site Superior product terminal and truck-rail racks.

• The off-site Duluth product terminal and truck rack in Proctor, Minn.

• The off-site Crookston and Rhinelander, Wis., asphalt terminals and truck racks.

• The leased Duluth marine terminal.

• Certain crude-gathering assets and line space in North Dakota, including lease-automatic custody transfer stations at Stanley, Beaver Lodge Station and Alexander.

• Certain rail logistics assets.

• A wholesale fuels business that fuels to Calumet-branded gas stations throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Husky, which will retain the refinery’s existing workforce, also previously committed to investing in key capital projects to improve operational efficiency of the refinery, including Calumet’s earlier planned Superior Flexibility Project (SFP).

Announced in early 2017, the SFP proposes upgrades to increase the plant’s ability to process a wider variety of crudes to enable improved product yield, recovery, and overall operational performance as well as capture higher margins following the refinery’s scheduled 2018 turnaround.

With its acquisition of the Superior refinery now completed, Husky’s total downstream processing capacity increases to 375,250 b/cd, the operator said.

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].