Refinery

TexStar Midstream Services LP has acquired Tierra Pipeline LP from The Tierra Companies, and the companies said they have tentatively agreed on the sale of trucking operator Tierra Transportation to Black Creek Well Services, a TexStar sister company, with closing expected by July 1.

Elliott Associates LP, a hedge fund that owns a 4% stake in Hess Corp., is urging other shareholders to elect its five nominees to the company’s board of directors and has called on Hess to spin off its assets in the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Utica shale plays.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) and Harvest Pipeline Co. have tentatively agreed to develop the capability to ship Utica Shale production from eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania by barge on the Ohio River.

Industry investment in infrastructure and more emphasis on infill developmental wells are helping to contain North Dakota’s wellhead flaring of natural gas in the oil/liquids-rich Bakken Shale formation, a state official said.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) and Phillips 66 on Thursday announced an agreement for Kinder Morgan to transport Eagle Ford crude and condensate to Phillips 66’s Sweeny Refinery in Brazoria County, TX, which will necessitate the construction of a $90 million, 27-mile, 12-inch diameter lateral pipeline to extend its Kinder Morgan Crude Condensate (KMCC) pipeline, along with related infrastructure.

ConocoPhillips, which is readying a spinoff of its refinery operations to reemerge as the largest pure-play explorer in North America, is planning to spend $15.5 billion for its capital program in 2012 and repurchase up to $10 billion more of its common stock.

ConocoPhillips, which is spinning off its refinery assets to create a pure-play explorer, has agreed to sell its interests in two U.S. pipeline companies for a total of $2 billion. An agreement with a subsidiary of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec is for a 16.55% stake in Colonial Pipeline Co. and Colonial Ventures LLC; the transaction is to close in 1Q2012. Definitive agreements also were reached with Enbridge Holdings (Seaway) LLC for a stake in Seaway Crude Pipeline Co., which is to close in December. Once closed, these transactions, along with sales already closed in 4Q2011, would total close to $10.5 billion by the end of 2012.

Lifted by high commodity prices and refinery margins, Chevron Corp. topped Wall Street expectations in the third quarter, reporting Friday that profits nearly doubled from a year earlier to $7.8 billion ($3.92/share) from $3.8 billion ($1.87). A consensus forecast by analysts had expected earnings to average $3.48/share in the latest period.

Lifted by high commodity prices and refinery margins, Chevron Corp. topped Wall Street expectations in the third quarter, reporting that profits nearly doubled from a year earlier to $7.8 billion ($3.92/share) from $3.8 billion ($1.87). A consensus forecast by analysts had expected earnings to average $3.48/share in the latest period.