Total seeks buyer for half of Texas refinery

New York

FRENCH oil major Total SA is selling a 50 per cent stake in its sole US refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, and has retained investment bank Lazard to advise on the deal, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Total, which has been trying to reduce its downstream exposure for three years, intends to remain operator of the 225,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) plant, which it has owned for more than 40 years, the source said.