Murphy Oil Sells Meraux Refinery, Inventory For $625 Million
by August 31, 2011 7:00 pm 93 views
Expect Murphy Oil Corp. to have a sizable gain on its books at the end of the quarter.
The El Dorado-based intergrated oil and gas company says it has entered an agreement with Valero Energy Corp. to sell its refinery in Meraux, Louisiana and related assets. Murphy’s sale price is $325 million plus the value of its hydrocarbon inventory, which is pegged at nearly $300 million.
Murphy Oil’s Meraux facility was at one time shut down and the subject of litigation after Hurricane Katrina damaged the facility.
“The announcement of the sale of Meraux is another execution step in our repositioning strategy to exit the refining business.” said Murphy Oil CEO David Wood. “We will now focus our attention on completing the sale of our assets in the U.K.”
The company’s stock (NYSE: MUR) closed on Thursday at $53.54 per share amidst average trading volume.
Murphy Oil announced more than a year ago that it would exit the refinery business, including the sale of its Meraux operations. It has also been at the center of speculation regarding other market moves.