Michigan's Largest Independent Oil, Gas and Specialty Fuels Distributor Accelerates Growth with Addition of Buckeye 'Throughput' Ability TAYLOR, Mich., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Two of the largest independent players in the Midwest distribution of fuels are joining in a strategic relationship that accelerates the growth of Atlas Oil's distribution structure. Taylor, Michigan-based Atlas Oil Company has entered into a strategic relationship with Emmaus, Pennsylvania-based Buckeye Partners that increases Atlas's distribution capabilities through additional capacity gained from the use of Buckeye's transmission and storage facilities to move Atlas product, known in the industry as "throughput." The announcement was made by Atlas Oil owner Sam Simon. Atlas is a privately held company. Buckeye is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol BPL. "The utilization of the Buckeye transmission and storage facilities will continue the acceleration of our growth in the Midwest," Simon said. "Atlas is known for our 24-7-365 devotion to customer service. This added capability keeps making us stronger in that drive to provide superior service." "We are pleased to have acquired the Atlas terminal located in Taylor, Michigan," said William H. Shea, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Buckeye Partners. "We look forward to serving Atlas' throughput requirements at the Taylor, Michigan terminal and at other Buckeye terminals in the Midwest. We are pleased to be associated with the Atlas team and look forward to building upon our strong relationship in the years ahead." Atlas Oil, with nearly $700 million in revenue distributing more than 475 million gallons of fuel annually, is one of the largest independent distributors of gasoline, diesel and specialty fuels in the Midwest ranging from bulk sales and "over-night" fleet fueling to retail service stations and related services. Atlas Oil and its related companies combined also own, lease, operate or supply more than 250 retail service stations in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Buckeye Partners, L.P., through its operating subsidiaries, is one of the largest independent refined petroleum products pipeline systems in the United States in volume delivered, with approximately 4,900 miles of pipeline. The Partnership also owns and operates 42 refined petroleum products terminals with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 16.7 million barrels in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and other Midwestern and Eastern states, and operates and maintains another 1,300 miles of pipeline under agreements with major oil and chemical companies. Buckeye's operating subsidiary Buckeye Terminals LLC has acquired the Taylor, Mich. terminal from affiliates of Atlas Oil Terminals Operations, Inc. Atlas will lease back certain office facilities at the terminal from Buckeye. Buckeye intends to operate the terminal in a manner substantially similar to Atlas's past operation. The Taylor terminal facility has 12 million gallons in storage space. Financial terms of the transaction were not released. The Buckeye strategic partnership builds on the earlier 2005 Atlas acquisition of Fisher Fuels, a Walled Lake, Michigan-based distributor of diesel and heating fuels which added $25 million revenues to Atlas. Atlas previously acquired B&R Oil Company of South Bend, Indiana in October 2002, with current annual sales of $180 million. B&R owns and rents out 21 retail gas stations and distributes more than 105 million gallons of fuel to 61 Phillips 66 and 22 Citgo retail stations. Atlas Oil's Web site is http://www.atlasoil.com/. Buckeye's Web site is http://www.buckeye.com/. CO: Atlas Oil Company; Buckeye Partners, L.P. ST: Michigan, Pennsylvania IN: OIL SU: JVN DATASOURCE: Atlas Oil Company CONTACT: Leland K. Bassett or Jennifer M. Baum, +1-313-965-3010, both of Bassett & Bassett, Incorporated for Atlas Oil Company Web Site: http://www.atlasoil.com/ http://www.buckeye.com/

Copyright