Marathon Petroleum will close two of its US oil refineries permanently due to the slump in fuel demand.
Marathon’s small refineries in Martinez, California, and Gallup, New Mexico, will be permanently closed after previously being idle. According to the company, the closings will not disrupt its supply as Marathon will continue to utilize an integrated system to meet customer commitments.
The company said the Martinez facility might be used as an oil-storage facility and is assessing its future use to produce renewable diesel. The 161,000 bpd Martinez and 27,000 bpd Gallup refineries currently employ 860 workers and most jobs will be unnecessary.
According to a Reuters report, Marathon is also considering the sale of its Speedway gasoline station network to gain around USD15-17 billion.
Refinitiv data expected the company to face a second-quarter loss of USD1.75/share, contrasting with the USD1.73/share profit in the same period of 2019. Year-to-date, the company’s share went down by 38% at USD38.20 on Friday.
