BP, Marathon complete Texas sale

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HOUSTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A decision to sell a refinery in Texas City, Texas, to Marathon Petroleum Corp. gives BP what it needs to focus on other regions, a refining director said.

BP said it completed the sale of its Texas City refinery to Marathon for $2.5 billion.

Iain Conn, chief executive of BP's refining sector, said the divestment gives BP the opportunity to focus on other parts of the United States.

"The divestment of Texas City allows us to focus BP's U.S. fuels investments on our three northern refineries, which are crude feedstock advantaged, and their associated marketing businesses," Conn said in a statement.

The refinery in Texas City has the capacity to process 475,000 barrels of oil per day, making it one of the largest in the country. MPC President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Heminger said the BP deal is a "unique" chance to buy a world-class refinery that will be able to take advantage of the U.S. oil boom.

BP said it was looking to invest in major refineries in Indiana, Washington and Ohio.

An explosion at the Texas City facility in 2005 killed 15 workers dead and left 170 others injured. BP was accused of a string of criminal violations for neglecting environmental laws at the facility.