Northville Oil Storage Facility Sold to NYC Billionaire

An affiliate of United Refining, a Pennsylvania-based refiner owned by New York City billionaire John Catsimatidis, has agreed to purchase a Northville petroleum terminal previously owned by ConocoPhillips.

The two sides issued a joint press release on Tuesday announcing the purchase, which still needs regulatory approval.

The Northville facility, comprised of nearly two dozen holding tanks off of Sound Shore Road, reportedly stores up to 5 million barrels of oil on 280 acres. United Refning, according to a Forbes article, currently sells oil from its Pennsylvania facility to nearly 400 filling stations in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Catsimatidis said in the joint statement, "We will be able to provide storage and terminaling services to a wide variety of customers throughout the world."

Catsimatidis – who is considering a run for NYC mayor in 2013 – is the president and chairman of the board of Red Apple Group, which cracked Forbes' list of the 100 largest private companies. Red Apple Group is the parent company of United Refining, as well as the New York City supermarket chain Gristede's.

Phillips 66 was formed when ConocoPhillips split in two in May of 2012. Executive Vice President Tim Taylor said the plant no longer fits into the company's long-term business goals.

Terms of the agreement were not released.

For more information, click here to read the Forbes article.