Hess Finds Buyer for Its Commercial Fuels Business

NEW YORK -- Hess Corp. will sell its commercial fuels business outside of the New York City area to Sprague Resources LP. The price of the transaction has not yet been disclosed.

According to Sprague Resources, the transaction will be finalized prior to the end of this year.

"The acquisition will significantly increase our existing commercial fuels business and expand our geographic footprint along the East Coast," said David Glendon, CEO of Sprague Resources. "The fact that Hess approached us to service their accounts following the sale of its terminals business reflects Sprague's reputation in the industry for providing superior customer service and reliable delivery. We look forward to extending these services to the Hess commercial fuels customer base and ensuring seamless service provision to these accounts."

Hess' commercial fuels business is one of the largest marketers of refined products on the East Coast of the United States, serving commercial, industrial and government accounts via both former Hess terminal locations and third-party facilities.

Hess has been busy selling off many of its divisions throughout 2013 in an effort to transform itself into a pure-play exploration and production company. One of the only remaining assets left to sell is its convenience store and gas station business, consisting of more than 1,300 locations.

The private equity owners of BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., as well as Marathon Petroleum Corp., operator of Speedway LLC stores, and Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., operator of Circle K stores, have all been rumored to be interested in purchasing Hess' retail division. However, Hess insiders have told media sources that the company would like to sell the entire retail portfolio in one transaction, perhaps making it a bit tougher to find a buyer.

Portsmouth, N.H.-based Sprague Resource LP is engaged in the purchase, storage, distribution and sale of refined petroleum products and natural gas.

X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds