Houston, 14 August (Argus) — California's office of the attorney general will review US independent refiner Tesoro's proposed purchase of BP's assets in that state.
Both parties yesterday announced the $1.175bn deal, which includes the 260,000 b/d Carson refinery, 800 retail stores, a pipeline and other logistics assets. The Carson refinery is an asset Tesoro plans to connect to its own, neighboring 96,500 b/d refinery, which would swing the independent from the third-largest refiner in the state to the biggest, with 27pc of the state's capacity.
“We're going to look at it seriously, with the goal of preserving competition in the marketplace,” said Lynda Gledhill, spokeswoman for the office.
The process could take at least six months, she said.
The US Department of Justice's Antitrust division did not immediately comment on whether it would give a similar review.
BP pursued the sale as part of a broader North American divestment strategy. The sale of its 475,000 b/d refinery in Texas, City, Texas, is the next major goal for the company.
Tesoro, meanwhile, will use the sale to almost double the value of its logistics master limited partnership and expand its western US and California presence.
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