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Thursday, July 14, 2011

ConocoPhillips to split into two; shares rise, (NYSE: COP)

ConocoPhillips (COP.N) will spin off its refining arm in a bet that each operation will be worth more as separate companies, abandoning the bigger-is-better strategy that had driven oil giants into mergers over the past 15 years. Shares of ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil company, rose as much as 7.5 percent on the news. The split will create the largest refining company in the United States based on capacity and the largest exploration and production company by far based on oil and gas reserves. With the move, ConocoPhillips becomes the first of the so-called super majors to shift away from the strategy that led the industry to consolidate into a handful of players with global reach in the oil and gas production and oil products businesses.

ConocoPhillips is an international, integrated energy company. Shares of COP traded higher by 1.8% or $1.34/share to $75.74. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $48.06 and as high as $81.80. On average, 8350620 shares of COP exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 38123800.