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2012-05-01 17:43:08 Delta Airlines Buys Oil Refinery to Save on Fuel Costs

Transcript by Newsy: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewsyBusiness?feature=guide BY VICTORIA CRAIG ANCHOR BLAKE HANSON Ever wish you could just make your own fuel to avoid rising gas prices? Well, that's exactly what Delta Airlines is about to do. MSNBC explains the airline's big purchase. "We've seen that Delta Airlines has bought a refinery close to Philadelphia. It's being spun off from Conoco-Phillips to try to cut down its jet fuel bill." Last year, the airline spent $12 billion on fuel alone -- up $3 billion from the previous year. With those numbers, making your own jet fuel sounds appealing, but is buying your own oil refinery worth the cost? Bloomberg breaks down the numbers and puts the purchase into perspective. "The carrier is paying $180 million to buy the complex from Conoco-Phillips, or less than the cost of a new wide body plane. Delta expects the refinery to cover 80 percent of its domestic fuel needs and shave $300 million off its annual fuel bill." So how exactly will it work? Fox Business explains, the airline will outsource production in order to pump out 180,000 barrels of fuel each day, providing 80% of the airlines fuel needs. "Oil major BP will supply crude oil to be refined at the plant under a three-year agreement. BP and former refinery owner Phillips 66 will get a share of the gasoline, diesel and refined fuel to sell, in exchange for supplying Delta with jet fuel in other locations." It seems Delta's acquisition will not only provide a glimmer of hope for the airline, but also the state. Pennsylvania's WYOU explains how the state's governor is helping the airline preserve more than 5,000 jobs in Trainer. "He had no problem coming up with 20 percent of the $150 million purchase price of this to give Delta $30 million in Pennsylvania tax money to create those jobs." Despite the excitement about the investment, an energy economics professor at the University of Houston told Forbes, Delta's acquisition is just plain stupid. He says the risk isn't worth the investment. "Unless the airline buys an oil well, it still won't own the reserves...Delta would be better off buying call options on oil prices if it is worried about jet fuel costs...[W]hy would Delta think it knows more about running a refinery than Conoco, the oil company that is selling the Trainer [,Pennsylvania] facility?" Still, the New York Times reports investors are backing Delta's unique, first-of-its-kind purchase. "Despite the skepticism from oil specialists, investors seem to support Delta's unusual approach. The company's shares have gained more than 10 percent since the beginning of April as word of its interest in the refinery started to spread." The airline says it hopes to have the refinery acquisition complete by summer. And it plans to start producing jet fuel by the end of the third quarter.

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