Amoco Corp.: The oil company said its...

Amoco Corp.: The oil company said its third-quarter earnings fell 45% and blamed the decline on lower oil prices and the cost of closing a Wyoming refinery.

The Chicago-based energy company said it earned $290 million, or 59 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, down from $530 million, or $1.04 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter fell 11% to $7 billion from $7.9 billion a year earlier.

Amoco Chairman H. Laurance Fuller said the earnings decline reflected last year’s higher crude oil prices after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

This year’s quarterly earnings included a $75-million charge for shutting down a refinery in Casper, Wyo. Amoco said this month that it would close the 78-year-old plant rather than spend $150 million to meet environmental regulations.