Property, Plant and Equipment (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011 Right of way Year		Dec. 31, 2011 Buildings and Leasehold Improvements Year	Dec. 31, 2011 Jetties and subsea pipelines Year	Dec. 31, 2011 Oil tanks Year	Dec. 31, 2011 Pipelines & Terminals Year	Dec. 31, 2011 Furniture, Vehicles and other Equipment Year
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life (in years)				[1]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life, minimum ( in years)					13	20	25	7	3
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life, maximum (in years)					50	50	50	50	20
Land	$ 226,750	$ 64,905
Rights-of-way	109,325	97,529
Pad gas	29,346	29,346
Buildings and leasehold improvements	147,454	109,585
Jetties and subsea pipelines	336,431
Gas storage facility	206,237	196,077
Pipelines and terminals	2,947,643	1,982,049
Vehicles, equipment and office furnishings	83,765	72,901
Construction in progress	178,756	66,642
Total property, plant and equipment	4,265,707	2,619,034
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(418,134)	(313,150)
Total property, plant and equipment, net	$ 3,847,573	$ 2,305,884

[1] Rights-of-way assets are depreciated over the term of the agreement.