Oneok Completes Purchase of Petroleum Pipeline Firm
TULSA, Okla. — In a sign of the changing respective times for the oil and gas sectors in North America, Oneok, Inc., a major player in natural gas, on Monday completed its purchase of Magellan Midstream Partners, a company with access to nearly 50% of the nation’s oil refining capacity.
The purchase, which was approved by shareholders last Thursday, is valued at $18.8 billion.
“Our expanded products platform will present additional opportunities in Oneok’s core businesses and further enhance the resiliency of our company,” said Pierce H. Norton II, the company’s president and chief executive officer, in a written statement.
“We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition aimed at delivering on the many benefits of this combination for our customers, employees and shareholders,” he said.
Until recently, Magellan had been fairly bullish about the petroleum sector, but as company officials made their case they pointed to outside expert assessments that suggest U.S. consumers’ demand for gasoline and other petroleum products could fall off by more than 50% by 2050.
In light of those projections, they said, Magellan simply couldn’t face the market risks as a stand alone company.
On Thursday, about 96% of the votes cast were in favor of the merger.
Energy Income Partners, an investor holding a 3% stake in the company, was the largest entity to vote no.
In a statement released afterwards, it said, “In our experience, Magellan was a company with excellent assets and historically excellent management. We’re sorry things had to change.”
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
