P. M. BRIEFING : Shares Shoot Up as USX Corp. Puts Texas Oil, Gas Reserves Up for Sale
USX Corp., looking to cash in on recent interest in gas and oil reserves, said today it is putting up for sale the oil and gas reserves of its Texas Oil and Gas Corp. subsidiary, which the company bought in 1986 for about $3 billion.
USX shares shot up on the news, gaining $2.125 to $35.25 in active trading on New York Stock Exchange.
A USX spokesman declined to comment on the potential value of a sale. “We wouldn’t want to limit anybody’s imagination,” he said.
He said he does not know whether any potential buyer had expressed interest in Texas Oil and Gas.
The unit has failed to turn a consistent profit. It had an operating loss of $31 million in 1988, after a $2-million operating profit in 1987.
The USX spokesman said the company made the decision to sell the oil and gas reserves in response to market interest in such businesses.
He said the sale would involve about 1.2-trillion cubic feet of natural gas, or about 25% of USX’s natural gas reserves, and 28 million barrels of oil, or about 3% of the company’s oil reserves.
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