Tesoro completes California refinery purchase

by The Associated Press

Tesoro Petroleum Corp., which owns a refinery in Nikiski, completed its billion-dollar acquisition of a refinery and 70 gas stations in California May 17.

The refinery near San Francisco was sold by Valero Energy Corp. to answer antitrust concerns.

The California facility can process up to 168,000 barrels of oil each day.

The purchase gives Tesoro six refineries altogether with a total capacity of nearly 560,000 barrels daily. It now owns 250 gas stations and has 750 operating under its brands in the West.

Tesoro stock suffered a major sell off in mid-May after company executives indicated during a meeting with analysts that there was some doubt about whether the sale would close. Valero later made some concession on price and financing.