Tosco to Buy Irish National Petroleum

Tosco Corp., which already has a deal pending to acquire Bartlesville, Okla.-based Phillips Petroleum Co., reached a deal yesterday to acquire the state-owned Irish National Petroleum Corp. (INPC) for $100 million.

Irish public enterprise minister Mary O'Rourke said the sale agreement is still subject to legislative and regulatory approval, with formal completion expected in six to seven weeks.

"INPC is a small player in a large multinational market," O'Rourke said in a statement. "The board of INPC has advised me that the future lies within a large petroleum corporation."

The minister said INPC needed significant investment to respond to the growing demands for environmentally friendly fuels. Tosco, whose $7 billion sale to Phillips Petroleum was announced earlier this year, had the financial muscle "to meet INPC's investment requirements going forward," O'Rourke said.

If the deal is approved, Tosco would acquire INPC's Whitegate refinery and Whiddy Island oil terminal. Tosco has agreed to maintain INPC's terminal and refinery operations for 15 years, and to maintain existing jobs and conditions at the plants, which employ more than 400 people.
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