A multipart crude and sand logistics system originating in the heart of the Delaware Basin, the RIO System was developed in 2012 to provide shippers access and optionality to multiple end markets, including Colorado City, Cushing, Corpus Christi and Houston markets. Comprised of the RIO Hub plus interconnected pipelines and terminals, the RIO System became the ultimate Permian Basin transportation and terminaling solution for crude oil and frac sand. At time of sale in early 2018 to Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Andeavor (NYSE: ANDV), the RIO System consisted of four core facilities with additional facilities under development.
RIO Hub
The RIO Hub rail facility became the Delaware Basin’s premier frac sand storage and truck loading facility. Located on 294 acres 12 miles south of Carlsbad in Eddy County, New Mexico, the RIO Hub serviced the region’s most prominent frac sand suppliers. At time of sale, two separate loop tracks were fully constructed, each capable of handling two back-to-back unit trains. The facility was also well positioned to capitalize on the vast potential liquid logistics needs of the Northern Delaware Basin with acreage available to develop a complete liquids terminal with rail and transloading capabilities.
RIO Pipeline
The RIO Pipeline was a 110-mile, 12-inch pipeline (max 145 Mbpd) that bridged the Delaware and Midland basins with connectivity to State Line and Midland terminals. Designed as a batched system capable of blending multiple crude gravities to meet third-party specifications, the RIO Pipeline offered customers blending opportunities and options to segregate high gravity crude/condensate.
RIO State Line Terminal
RIO’s State Line Terminal was situated on 41 acres in the heart of the Delaware Basin in Loving County, Texas. At time of sale, crude oil was received via direct gathering connections and truck offloading capable of 80+ Mbpd, supported by 190Mmbld of storage. Expansion potential included accommodating truck offloading of 125 Mbpd plus 650 Mbbl of incremental storage.
RIO Midland Terminals (Geneva & Zurich)
RIO’s Midland Terminals, situated on a total of 49 acres, consisted of two crude receipt and storage terminals in the Midland tank farm area.
Geneva Terminal was comprised of three 110 Mbbl tanks and five truck automatic custody transfer units (TACTs) capable of receiving 28 Mbpd via truck, along with ancillary equipment that included custody transfer meters and pumps.
Zurich Terminal was a large-scale crude storage terminal that, at time of sale, had one 240 Mbbl tank, five TACTs capable of offloading 28 Mbpd, custody transfer measurement, a blend skid, pumps and a tank manifold system designed to accommodate incremental storage. Three 12-inch pipelines interconnect Zurich Terminal to Geneva Terminal, including one that extends another mile to Plains Pipeline’s Midland South Terminal.
Located on 37 acres, the Zurich Terminal could accommodate over 1.6 MMbl of total crude storage and 77 Mbpd of truck offloading.
Wink Lateral & Terminal (in development at time of sale)
Situated on a 41-acre lease site in Wink, Texas, at the intersection of FM 1232 and FM 201, the RIO Wink Terminal was designed to initially accommodate 480 Mbbls of crude storage and associated truck unloading, and was expandable to a 860 Mbbls of storage and 10 truck lanes capable of 55 Mbpd of truck throughput. Designs included a future connection to the RIO Pipeline via a 12-inch lateral, offering shippers the option to ship crude oil sourced in the Delaware Basin to either Wink or Midland.
RIO Connector (in development at time of sale)
The purpose of the proposed RIO Connector was to connect RIO’s State Line Terminal to the RIO Hub via a 10-inch, 75 Mbpd, 38-mile pipeline, providing both improved gathering access to valuable Northern Delaware production and enhanced shipper optionality, including crude-by-rail at the RIO Hub.
