Hess Corp on Monday announced plans to sell its oil storage terminal network and exit the oil refining business, after activist hedge fund Elliott Associates said it was considering nominating directors to the Hess board.Hess' decision to become predominantly an exploration and production company is similar to the strategy employed by others such as ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil, which spun off their refining operations in recent years."Hess is now facing some activist shareholder interest. In order to deflect or preempt pressure from Elliot, Hess announced it will be becoming a pure E&P company," said Pavel Molchanov, an oil analyst for Raymond James.Molchanov said the move to simplify Hess' asset base should be appreciated by investors. Hess shares rose 6 percent in afternoon trading.
ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports and markets crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas and bitumen on a worldwide basis. Shares of COP fell by 0.46% or $-0.28/share to $60.78. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $50.62 and as high as $78.29. On average, 5869570 shares of COP exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2991801.
Marathon Oil Corporation (Marathon Oil) is an international energy company engaged in exploration and production, oil sands mining and integrated gas with operations in the United States, Angola, Canada, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Libya, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom. Shares of MRO fell by 0.8% or $-0.27/share to $33.51. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $23.17 and as high as $35.49. On average, 5776970 shares of MRO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2974254.
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