Tosco Agrees to 15-Year Oil-Purchase Deal

Oil refiner Tosco Corp. agreed to buy all of Nuevo Energy Co.’s California crude oil production for 15 years to supply its four refineries in the state. Nuevo Energy, a Houston-based oil and natural-gas exploration company, said it expects Tosco to pay about 72% of the New York Mercantile Exchange price for the first four years. Tosco owns Circle K convenience stores and operates gas stations in California under the 76 and BP brands. It will receive about 48,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Tosco said last month that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 11% as its West Coast refineries made up for slimmer profits in its operations in East. Pump prices for fuel in California are higher because of the state’s stringent clean-air laws. In New York Stock Exchange trading, Tosco shares fell 6 cents to close at $26.56, and Nuevo Energy shares fell 19 cents to $18.38. Crude oil on the New York Merc fell 37 cents to $28.45 a barrel.