Commodities Trader Trammo Shedding East Coast LPG assets

 

The shakeup comes as the large energy and fertilizer trader is winding down its LPG trading desk following steep losses last year, sources familiar with the matter have said.

 

The New-York based firm in November said it would seek to maximize the value of its waterborne propane terminals across the United States, including the Tampa propane terminal and the one in Newington.

 

In February, it sold the Tampa facility to Plains LPG Services, a unit of Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline LP, for an undisclosed amount.

 

The trader has retained investment bank Houlihan Lokey Inc to explore alternatives for the New Hampshire terminal that include a sale or continued ownership, said William Markstein, Trammo's senior vice president - corporate, deputy general counsel.

 

The bank is currently marketing the facility through a formal sale process, Markstein said in an email.

 

Sea-3, a division of Trammo, operated the Tampa terminal and currently operates the New Hampshire facility.

 

The company has also experienced key personnel changes in the last year, which may have altered its strategic direction.

 

Brent Hart recently became chief executive officer of the company, not long after the death of founder and Chairman Emeritus Ronald Stanton in September.

 

Trammo's Newington terminal is positioned to receive propane from the liquids-rich Marcellus and Utica shale regions, but an expansion project at the facility has been criticized by some local residents who are concerned about rail shipments to the terminal.

 

The expansion, which would allow for additional rail cars shipments and more storage, was approved in 2015.


(By Liz Hampton; Editing by Gary McWilliams and Matthew Lewis)