Houston, 28 July (Argus) — NuStar Energy, the third-largest asphalt maker in the US, is considering options to buy assets that are likely to be sold off by bankrupt SemGroup, NuStar chief executive Curt Anastasio said during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call on 25 July.
“We are absolutely monitoring and very interested in seeing if we can help ourselves by doing a transaction with the SemGroup folks,” Anastasio told an analyst from Merrill Lynch during the call.
NuStar — the San Antonio-based master limited partnership that bought Citgo's US asphalt refineries in Savannah and Paulsboro earlier this year — said it has a bullish outlook on the US asphalt markets as supplies are chronically tight and wholesale and retail prices are soaring.
With the cloud of SemGroup's massive hedging losses hanging over the market, NuStar executives told investors they have no plans to hedge any of its asphalt operations. “Near-term, we don't have any plans to put on hedges,” Anastasio said. The company is “selling depreciated inventory at higher prices” and sees no need for hedges, although Anastasio said he is open to using hedging in the future.
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