NJR Midstream to acquire Leaf River Energy Center for $367m

NJR Midstream acquisition of Leaf River Energy Center: New Jersey Resources’ business unit NJR Midstream has agreed to acquire a natural gas storage facility called Leaf River Energy Center in Mississippi from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners for $367.5 million.

The seller Macquarie Infrastructure Partners is part of the Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, which in turn is a division of the Macquarie Group.

The natural gas storage facility, which is located in Taylorsville in southeastern Mississippi, is connected to six interstate pipelines – Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Destin, Transco, Southern Natural Gas, Gulf South, and Midcontinent Express pipelines. The connection between the natural gas storage hub with the pipelines is through a 40 mile long, dual 24-inch pipeline header system.

NJR Midstream acquisition of Leaf River Energy Center. Image courtesy of supakitmod at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

The Leaf River Energy Center comprises three salt dome caverns that have a combined working natural gas storage capacity of 32.2 million dekatherms (MMDth).

Located in Smith County, the caverns were brought into service between 2011 and 2014. The natural gas storage facility is designed to accommodate an additional storage cavern that will bring nearly 13.1 MMDth of storage capacity.

Commenting on NJR Midstream acquisition of Leaf River Energy Center, Steve Westhoven – president and COO of New Jersey Resources, said: “By leveraging our market expertise, NJR Midstream is well positioned with Leaf River to be a leading Gulf Coast service provider in one of the most significant and growing energy demand centers in the United States.

“This transaction is another example of our commitment to pursuing and delivering long-term shareowner value by acquiring high-quality assets with organic growth potential.”

By acquiring the natural gas storage facility in Mississippi, NJR Midstream will now have stakes such facilities in the Gulf Coast and Marcellus Shale regions, having a combined working gas capacity of over 44 MMDth.

NJR Midstream acquisition of Leaf River Energy Center is expected to be completed this year and will support the former’s long-term net financial earnings growth rate of 6-8%.