By The Canadian Press

CALGARY - Provident Energy Trust (TSX:PVE.UN) said Wednesday it has agreed to buy a Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) commercial hydrocarbon storage facility in Sarnia, Ont., for an undisclosed amount.

Calgary-based Provident, an oil and gas producer and midstream service provider and marketer, said it will use the 1,000-acre 12.1-million-barrel facility to beef up its midstream operations in the area. The company currently operates storage facilities and natural gas extraction plants at its Sarnia facilities.

"This strategic acquisition expands Provident's commercial services platform into Eastern Canada, adds operational and commercial flexibility to the Empress East system and positions Provident Midstream for continued growth in stable fee-for-service margin based business," the company said in a statement.

The site being acquired from Dow currently has an active cavern storage capacity consisting of five million barrels of hydrocarbon storage and 7.1 million barrels currently being used for storage of brine, which is injected into storage caverns to bring stored liquids to the surface.

The facility also has 13 pipeline connections and a small rail offloading facility.

Provident said its 2010 capital budget includes about $17 million earmarked for facility maintenance and upgrades to expand rail facilities at the site and to build a truck-loading terminal.

The deal is expected to close in early 2010.

Provident units were up three cents at $6.83 in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.