WELLINGTON, New Zealand—Chevron Corp.—the
second-biggest U.S. oil producer by market value after Exxon Mobil
Corp—has further reshaped its Asia-Pacific footprint by
selling a stake in the operator of New Zealand's sole refinery.
Chevron raised more than 82 million New Zealand dollars (US$59
million) through the sale of its around 11% interest in Refining NZ
to institutional investors. Deutsche Craigs, a broker part-owned by
Deutsche Bank, handled the trade of around 35.5 million shares at a
price of NZ$2.33 each.
Global energy companies such as Chevron are selling assets to
buffer their balance sheets from tumbling oil prices.
Two months ago, Chevron sold its 50% stake in Caltex Australia
Ltd., which owns a refinery, fuel terminals and gasoline stations,
for 4.73 billion Australian dollars (US$3.63 billion). It also
decided not to invest more money in a joint venture with Beach
Energy Ltd. to explore for shale gas in the Australian Outback.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BP PLC have also sold or closed refining
assets in Australia and New Zealand in recent years.
In April, Chevron raised its target for asset sale proceeds to
US$15 billion between 2014 and 2017, up from its previous guidance
of US$10 billion.
The San Ramon, Calif., company in January reported a 30%
year-over-year slide in profit for the last three months of 2014 to
US$3.5 billion, its lowest since the 2009 recession. Chevron said
at the time it would trim spending and stop buying back its shares
as the collapse in oil prices wiped billions of dollars from its
cash flow.
Braden Reddall, Chevron's senior media adviser for its
downstream business, said the sale of its stake in Refining NZ was
in line with the company's long-term strategy.
"Asia-Pacific remains a core strategic focus for Chevron's
downstream business and we are focused on ensuring our operations,
portfolio and investments are well-positioned to meet the region's
growing demand for energy," he said.
The sale of the Refining NZ stake is likely to ignite
speculation that Chevron could sell its Caltex business in New
Zealand, which includes 147 Caltex service stations and 73 Caltex
unstaffed diesel fuel filling stations, serving the trucking
industry. Mr. Reddall declined to comment on whether a buyer would
be sought for Caltex.
According to Refining NZ, Chevron's decision to sell its shares
doesn't affect processing arrangements with the refinery. Other
major shareholders in Refining NZ include locally listed Z Energy
Ltd. and units of BP and Exxon Mobil Corp.
In the region, Chevron's biggest bets are on exports of
liquefied natural gas to Asian customers. The company is building
the A$52 billion Gorgon gas-export project on an Australian island
that also houses a nature reserve, and another US$29 billion
project—Wheatstone—on the coast of Western
Australia.
Write to Rebecca Howard at rebecca.howard@wsj.com
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