ConocoPhillips splits into E&P, R&M

ConocoPhillips said July 13 that it will split the company into two standalone, publicly traded companies, one for refining and marketing and the other for exploration and production.

The company said that following completion of the proposed separation ConocoPhillips “will be a large and geographically diverse pure-play exploration and production company with strong returns and investment opportunities.”

The refining and marketing business “will be a leading pure-play independent refiner with a competitive and diverse set of assets,” the company said.

“Both companies will continue to benefit from the size and scale of their significant high-quality asset bases and free cash flow generation, allowing them to invest and create shareholder value in a changing environment,” Jim Mulva, chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

Separation of the companies is expected to be complete in the first half of 2012, and the company said that upon completion of the separation, Mulva intends to retire.

ConocoPhillips is Alaska’s largest oil and gas producer. The company’s Alaska spokeswoman, Natalie Lowman, told Petroleum News in an e-mail that “we do not expect any impacts locally here in Alaska.” The company has no downstream operations in the state, just exploration and production, she said.

—Kristen Nelson