Phillips and Conoco selling refineries amid federal scrutiny

by The Associated Press

Phillips Petroleum Co. and Conoco Inc. are selling refineries in Utah and Colorado as federal regulators near the end of a review of the oil companies’ union.

Bartlesville-based Phillips is selling its Woods Cross refinery near Salt Lake City and 25 gasoline stations in Utah and southern Wyoming, company spokeswoman Kristi DesJarlais said June 25.

Houston-based Conoco is unloading its 60,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Commerce City, Colo., “in anticipation of a possible (Federal Trade Commission) settlement of the merger,” Conoco’s Sondra Fowler said.

The FTC is expected to require the companies to sell gas stations and refineries in the West to ensure competition there before approving Phillips’ acquisition of Conoco.

The companies announced the acquisition in November. Shareholders in April approved the deal, which will create the world’s sixth largest oil and gas company with a value of $35 billion.

The new company, ConocoPhillips, would be based in Houston, but Phillips shareholders would own a 57 percent stake.

FTC chairman Timothy Muris said the week of June 17 that regulators are nearing completion of their investigation of the deal, which both companies have said should be wrapped up in the year’s second half.

The Woods Cross refinery is small, processing just 25,000 barrels of oil a day, and is one of 10 Phillips refineries in the United States with a combined daily capacity of 1.7 million barrels.

ConocoPhillips would be the nation’s third largest retailer and refiner of gasoline, with about 20,000 stations under brand names such as Phillips 66, Circle K, Exxon and Mobil.

Antitrust attorney Joseph Alioto is suing to block the deal, claiming it violates antitrust law and would result in higher gasoline prices.