Big oil refinery deal

Not that you'll probably notice, but Tesoro Corp. is buying Royal Dutch Shell's Wilmington refinery, plus 250 filling stations, for $1.6 billion. Shell, along with the other major oil companies, have started to move away from refinery operations, preferring to focus on extracting oil (profit margins on refineries are not what they once were). Tesoro, meanwhile, has been bulking up its refinery operations in the West (it acquired its first West Coast refinery in 1968). It wants to improve the reliability of the Wilmington operation and intends to invest about $350 million for various overhauls. The 250 filling stations will continue to operate under the Shell name. Tesoro is also buying 140 USA Petroleum stations for $277 million. Bloomberg