- Business
- Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P. is a midstream energy company specializing in integrated terminalling, storage, processing, gathering, and transportation services for the crude oil and liquid asphalt cement industries. The company operates a diversified portfolio of complementary midstream energy assets, including approximately 8.2 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity primarily located in Oklahoma and Texas, with about 6.7 million barrels at the strategically important Cushing Oklahoma Interchange. It manages approximately 1,300 miles of crude oil pipelines mainly in Oklahoma and Texas, alongside a fleet of around 185 crude oil transportation and oilfield service vehicles deployed across Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Additionally, Blueknight owns about 7.2 million barrels of combined asphalt and residual fuel oil storage across 45 terminals in 22 states. Its core services are organized into four operating segments: asphalt terminalling services; crude oil terminalling and storage services; crude oil pipeline services; and crude oil trucking and producer field services. The asphalt segment includes leasing of facilities, processing, blending, and manufacturing products to customer specifications without taking title to the product, facilitating product distribution across a network of 54 terminals in 26 states.
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Blueknight Energy Partners operates primarily throughout the continental United States. The company serves producers, marketers, and refiners of crude oil and asphalt products, focusing on providing midstream infrastructure and logistics solutions that enable clients to manage product distribution efficiently from production through to the point of distribution or end customers.
In recent major corporate developments, Blueknight completed a significant strategic transaction involving debt refinancing and an equity investment partnership with Charlesbank Capital Partners and Vitol Holding B.V. As part of this 2024 transaction, Blueknight repaid existing indebtedness under its prior credit agreement and secured a new credit facility, enhancing its financial flexibility. Vitol Holding increased its investment, reflecting confidence in Blueknight’s operational repositioning. Charlesbank became a joint controlling party with Vitol in the general partner entity, marking a new chapter with a focus on growth and unitholder value creation. This refinancing and ownership structure restructuring position Blueknight to pursue new investments and operational improvements, having recently stabilized and realigned its customer relationships and market approach. These changes include the issuance of Series A Preferred Units and a new credit agreement with a $200 million term loan and $75 million revolving loan facility.
Blueknight was publicly traded until its acquisition in 2022 by Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc., a Mississippi-based company that completed the purchase of all outstanding common and preferred units. Post-acquisition, Blueknight operates as a private company wholly owned by Ergon. This acquisition integrates Blueknight’s large independent asphalt terminaling network into Ergon’s industry-leading position, with a strategic emphasis on maintaining Blueknight’s operations and asset base as part of Ergon’s growth and service platform.
Overall, Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P. offers a comprehensive suite of midstream services focusing on crude oil and asphalt products through a well-positioned asset base in key U.S. energy hubs, enhanced recently by substantial financial restructuring and a strategic partnership that supports its growth and operational stability in a competitive midstream market.