News

Sugar Land, Texas - Rangeland Energy, LLC announced today that the company has executed a long-term anchor agreement with Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) for handling material crude oil volumes at Rangeland’s crude oil loading terminal and pipeline in Williams County, North Dakota. A Fortune 150 company, Tesoro is a leading refiner and marketer of petroleum products with seven refineries in the western United States.

Known as the COLT Hub and the COLT Connector, Rangeland’s terminal and pipeline facilities are expected to be in service by the first quarter of 2012. Strategically located in the heart of the prolific Bakken and Three Forks shale oil producing areas, the COLT system will provide producers, marketers and refiners with the first open-access crude oil marketing hub in North Dakota.

”Rangeland is looking forward to working with Tesoro to facilitate the transportation of Bakken crude to its refining interests and other potential markets,” said Christopher W. Keene, Rangeland president and CEO. “Tesoro is a major player in the Bakken and a strong strategic fit for COLT.

“This agreement allows us to leverage our advantaged logistical position in the region by creating an outlet to provide high quality cost-advantaged feedstocks to other refineries within our system,” said Greg Goff, president and CEO of Tesoro. “We are excited about partnering with Rangeland Energy to manage the rapidly increasing volumes of crude oil coming out of the Bakken shale.”

Construction of the COLT Hub began in May. With three 120,000-barrel storage tanks and two 8,700-foot rail loops, COLT will accommodate large 120-car unit trains and will be capable of moving more than 80,000 barrels per day by rail. The COLT Connecter, a 21-mile, 10-inch bi-directional pipeline will connect the COLT Hub to the Beaver Lodge/Ramberg junction and will be capable of transporting an additional 70,000 barrels per day by pipeline.

“This is the first pure merchant or third-party terminal facility in the area. COLT is designed to offer services to any qualified customer that has a need to commercialize their crude oil,” said Keene. “We are working with other key Bakken players to provide gathering services into the COLT Hub, tankage and terminal services, and additional pipeline and rail transportation options out of COLT. The COLT system is well positioned to grow with the industry in the Bakken.”

About Rangeland Energy, LLC
Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Rangeland Energy, LLC was formed in 2009 to focus on developing, acquiring, owning and operating infrastructure for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s primary focus has been in North Dakota and other growing oil and gas shale producing areas. The Rangeland team represents more than 100 years of combined midstream experience and is backed by an equity commitment from EnCap Flatrock Midstream.

About Tesoro Corporation
Tesoro Corporation, a Fortune 150 company, is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products. Tesoro, through its subsidiaries, operates seven refineries in the western United States with a combined capacity of approximately 665,000 barrels per day. Tesoro's retail-marketing system includes nearly 1,200 branded retail stations, of which over 375 are company operated under the Tesoro, Shell, Mirastar and USA Gasoline™ brands.