Tesoro selling
From staff and wire reports
2 gas fields to EEX
for $216 millionHOUSTON -- Tesoro Petroleum Corp. is selling gas fields in Texas and Louisiana for $216 million to EEX Corp., an oil and natural-gas exploration company.
The acquisition will boost EEX's gas production 42 percent.
The fields produce about 80 million cubic feet equivalent a day from reserves of about 204 billion cubic feet equivalent. EEX also will acquire about 157,000 acres of land that it will explore and develop.
The companies expect to complete the transaction this year. Tesoro will use the proceeds to pay down debt.
Houston-based EEX will open an office in San Antonio staffed mostly by Tesoro workers to manage its U.S. onshore exploration projects.
Tesoro said in May it was considering a sale of its gas and oil fields to focus on expanding its refining business.
The company still owns field in Bolivia and said it may sell them. It owns refineries in Alaska, Washington and Hawaii.
Tesoro, based in San Antonio, Texas, entered the Hawaii market in March when it bought BHP Hawaii, including its Barbers Point refinery and 32 BHP Gas Express retail gasoline stations, early last year for $325 million. The gas stations now carry the Tesoro name.
EEX, which had 1998 sales of $218 million, explores for gas and oil in Texas, the Gulf of Mexico and Indonesia. Tesoro had $1.47 billion in sales last year.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
