Murphy Announces Superior Refinery Sale for $214M

Murphy Oil Corporation MUR announced today that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement pursuant to which its wholly-owned subsidiary, Murphy Oil USA, Inc., will sell its refinery in Superior, Wisconsin and related assets. The Superior Refinery is being acquired by Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. for a sales price of $214 million plus the value of hydrocarbon inventory, and subject to certain other adjustments. The hydrocarbon inventory will be valued based on market prices at closing (the inventory was valued at approximately $260 million as of June 30, 2011). The sale is subject to customary regulatory approvals and conditions, and is expected to close later in the third quarter or fourth quarter of 2011. David M. Wood, Murphy's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased to announce the sale of our Superior Refinery as we execute on our strategy to exit the refining business.” Wood added, “The price realization for Superior represents fair market value for the assets and we look to redeploy the proceeds and working capital from the sales process into our upstream growth business.”