PBF to Buy Southern California Refinery From Exxon for $537.5 Million

By Lynn Cook 

PBF Energy Inc. said it will buy a large refinery in southern California from Exxon Mobil Corp. for $537.5 million, plus working capital valued at closing.

The deal is significant because the 155,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Torrance, a suburb south of Los Angeles, has been shut down since early 2015 when a fire destroyed a unit critical to making gasoline. Once the refinery stopped making fuel, prices at the pump in the state soared.

It's difficult to import enough fuel to satisfy California's gasoline needs, because the state's environmental regulations are more stringent than the rest of the U.S., and the world.

PBF said it will repair the refinery and reopen it. The transaction with Exxon is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the company said.

Write to Lynn Cook at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2015 17:12 ET (21:12 GMT)

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