TotalFinaElf has announced an agreement for the disposal of some downstream activities in the US to the Israeli oil company Alon Israel. These include its Big Spring refinery in Texas and related fuels pipeline and terminal assets and the Fina branded service station network.

The Big Spring refinery has been in service for over 70 years converting mainly crude oil from the Permian Basin. Daily capacity is currently around 60,000 barrels for an annual production of three million tons of fuel products and asphalt intended for the southwestern US. Big Spring can be supplied with crude from the Gulf of Mexico coast through the Amdel pipeline. It has interest and access rights in several petroleum products transportation networks serving the southwestern region. In addition to these activities, the agreement calls for the disposal of marketing assets which include 1,700 Fina branded service stations in the southwestern US.

The definitive agreement is expected to be complete in July of this year.

These disposals come within the framework of the Group’s strategy announced at the time of the merger between Total and PetroFina in 1999. It shows the Group’s willingness to rationalize its downstream activities in the US by concentrating on large-size assets with low breakeven costs. These disposals follow the sale by Total of US refining and marketing activities to Ultramar Diamond Shamrock in 1997.

In the US, TotalFinaElf will continue to be present in downstream through its refinery at Port Arthur, Texas, which has a current refining capacity of 175,000 barrels a day. Benefiting from the latest technologies, the Port Arthur refinery is located in the heart of a petroleum region of primary importance and also has the advantage of being strongly integrated into important basic petrochemical activities which are in full expansion.

In addition, the Group has quality specialty chemicals positions in the US and is actively pursuing its exploration-production operations in the Gulf of Mexico where it holds quality acreage of approximately 180 blocks in deep offshore areas.