"Tosco Corporation Announces Agreement To Buy The Alliance Refinery From BP Amoco"
Thursday July 13, 8:22 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Tosco Corporation
STAMFORD, Conn., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Tosco Corporation announced today that it has entered into an agreement to buy the Alliance Refinery in Louisiana from BP Amoco. The purchase price is $660 million, plus hydrocarbon inventories. The refinery, one of the newest in the U.S., is a modern 250,000 barrels per day clean fuels and petrochemical complex.
Thomas D. O'Malley, Tosco's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, ``Alliance is regarded as America's premier sweet crude oil refinery, with high conversion capabilities and Tosco's first entry into the highly competitive Gulf Coast refining market. Alliance is ideally configured to produce the recently EPA mandated clean gasoline and diesel fuel. The investment necessary to produce these cleaner burning fuels will be well below industry averages and should offer Tosco a significant advantage. Additionally we believe this particular facility has three distinct advantages over similar Gulf Coast fuel refineries. Alliance has a crude cost advantage due to heavy feedstock processing capability. It also has petrochemical productions of some 12,000 barrels per day of refinery grade propylene, and thirdly Alliance has low operating costs compared to coking refineries on the Gulf Coast.
``We believe the addition of the Alliance Refinery could add over $.35 per share to the first full year of ownership and should make a greater contribution in the years to come with the introduction of low sulfur gasoline on a national basis. With the purchase of Alliance and the recently announced sale of Avon, Tosco will have a refining capacity of approximately 1.35 million barrels per day, the largest independent refiner in the United States.
O'Malley continued, ``With the recently announced sale of Avon and expected proceeds we do not foresee issuing any equity to fund this transaction. We are however always cognizant of the need to maintain strong credit worthiness and improve it over time. We will continue steps to diversify our operational risk and improve our finances in the future.''
The transaction has been approved by both companies. Completion of the sale is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including regulatory approvals. The sale is expected to close prior to year-end.
Interested shareholders may listen to a conference call with analysts regarding this release on Thursday July 13 at 11:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time by calling (800) 260-0712.
Tosco Corporation, which currently has over $20 billion in annualized revenues, is the largest independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products and convenience store merchandise in the United States.
Tosco's company literature, including the 1999 Annual Report, Press Releases, Forms 10-K and 10-Q, are available on Tosco's website: tosco.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE ``SAFE HARBOR'' PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
Certain statements contained in this news release are ``forward-looking statements" within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The words "believe," "expects," "could," "looks forward," and other similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Important factors (but not necessarily the only important factors) that could cause the results to differ materially from those expected are: delay in completing a project or projects, operational difficulties, varying market conditions, actions of government, and other risks noted from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission and other filings. The company's forward-looking statements are expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that they will be achieved.
Alliance Refinery
-- Began operations in 1971, built by Gulf Oil.
-- Located in Louisiana, on the Mississippi River about 25 miles south of
New Orleans, 60 miles from the Gulf of Mexico.
-- 250,000 barrels per day sweet crude refinery.
-- Current crude slate: 70% Heavy Louisiana Sweet (HLS), 30% West African
and other imported crudes
-- Highly efficient single train operation.
-- Location advantages for crude supply barge or pipeline and access to
the Colonial and Plantation pipeline systems.
-- Excellent safety and environmental record - Recipient of 4 National
-- Safety Recognition Awards
Finished Products Produced 1999 Production
Premium and Regular gasoline 110,000 b/d
Jet Fuel 38,000 b/d
Low Sulfur Diesel 69,000 b/d
Aromatic Petrochemicals 17,000 b/d
Anode Grade Coke and Carbon Black Feed Stock (CBFS) 9,000 b/d
Refinery grade propylene 12,000 b/d*
* Estimated production level, online in 2000.
Processing Units Capacity
Crude/Vacuum Unit 250,00 b/d
Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit ("FCCU") 104,00 b/d
Delayed Coking Unit ("Coker") 25,00 b/d
Catalytic Reforming Unit ("Reformer") 42,000 b/d
Hydrofluoric Acid Alyklation Unit ("Alky") 38,000 b/d
Aromatics Extraction Unit 26,000 b/d
Thermal Hydro Dealkylation Unit 6,500 b/d
Naptha Hydrodesulfurization Unit 47,000 b/d
Diesel Hydrotreater 30,000 b/d
Cracked Distillate Hydrotreater 35,000 b/d
Jet Treater 42,000 b/d
Propylene Recovery Unit 12,000 b/d
Light Ends Recovery Unit 2,400 b/d
CONTACT: Jefferson F. Allen, or Colm T. McDermott of Tosco, 203-698-7500.
SOURCE: Tosco Corporation
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