Goldman Sachs-led rail terminal venture plans MLP offering

Aug 29 (Reuters) - A Goldman Sachs-led rail terminal operator, USD Group LLC, announced on Friday plans to form a Master-Limited Partnership this year to trade publicly on the New York Stock Exchange.

USD Group's subsidiary, which is forming the MLP, develops and operates rail terminals that handle growing shipments of energy products including crude oil and ethanol.

The MLP will include a rail terminal in Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, two ethanol rail terminals in San Antonio, Texas and West Colton, California and railcar services through the management of a railcar fleet including 3,799 railcars, USD Group said in a press release.

In a public filing, USD Group listed Goldman Sachs as its "principal shareholder." The filing didn't specify Goldman's shareholdings.

In an S-1 filing, USD Partners LP, which will trade under the symbol USDP, registered to offer shares valued as high as $150 million.

The filing also shows that Goldman Sachs unit J. Aron, a commodities trader, holds agreements for terminaling and fleet services with USD Partners LP.

USD Group is one of several builders and operators of a growing number of crude-by-rail terminals being used to load and unload abundant supplies of crude from U.S. shale formations. (Reporting By Joshua Schneyer; Editing by Jessica Resnick-Ault, Bernard Orr)