The board of directors of Magellan Midstream Partners LP has increased the partnership's quarterly cash distribution to 81.5 cents per unit for the period Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2011, representing the 39th distribution increase since its initial public offering in 2001. The fourth-quarter 2011 distribution is 2% higher than the third-quarter 2011 distribution of 80 cents per unit and represents an 8% increase over the fourth-quarter 2010 distribution of 75.75 cents. For the year, Magellan declared distributions of $3.17 per unit for 2011, or 7% higher than distributions of $2.955 per unit for 2010. The new distribution, which equates to $3.26 per unit on an annualized basis, will be paid Feb. 14 to unit holders of record at the close of business on Feb. 7.