CHICAGO - ConocoPhillips, the third-largest US energy company, plans to shed its refining business through a spinoff to free capital for oil exploration and increase returns for investors.
ConocoPhillips will divide into two separate, publicly traded companies by the end of June 2012, the Houston company said in a statement yesterday. Chief executive Jim Mulva, who has led the company since its creation nine years ago in a $25 billion merger, plans to retire once the spinoff is complete.
Oil producers such as Chevron and Marathon Oil have been trimming refining holdings to focus capital on more lucrative ventures such as offshore oil exploration and North American natural gas drilling.
