Morgan Stanley Private Equity will make a majority equity investment in the group of Trinity companies, including Trinity Pipeline and Trinity CO2 Supply, through a newly formed company called Trinity CO2 Investments.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Trinity transports and supplies CO2 to oil fields undergoing enhanced oil recovery operations in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The company currently owns and operates over 200 miles of pipeline on its Llano and West Texas systems.
Trinity was founded in 2000 by president and chief executive officer Barry F. Petty. Robert Kincaid is joining the business as executive vice president and chief financial officer and brings a track record of building midstream businesses as well as financial and capital markets experience. Bryan Hargrove joined Trinity in 2006 and has been promoted to senior vice president of marketing. Prior to joining Trinity, Hargrove managed ExxonMobil’s CO2 and helium business in North America
Petty says: “We are very excited to partner with Morgan Stanley Private Equity in support of our long-term strategic plan to expand our existing asset base and build an even more comprehensive and integrated CO2 business. There is still a tremendous volume of proven oil reserves that are recoverable through CO2 injection in North America generally and the Permian Basin in particular. Trinity has been, and will continue to be, the key to unlocking much of that resource. Trinity will be a leading CO2-based EOR company throughout North America.”
John Moon, managing director of Morgan Stanley Private Equity, adds: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Trinity team. They bring best-in-class management talent and CO2 EOR experience that is truly second to none. This is an extraordinary opportunity to invest alongside a highly experienced management team to grow a world-class CO2 enhanced oil recovery business. Furthermore, as our business also involves the sequestration of manmade CO2, we are doubly pleased to be supporting activity that facilitates development of energy resources in a sensible and environmentally responsible way. We look forward to pursuing additional opportunities in enhanced oil recovery and CO2-related infrastructure throughout North America.”
