Monday, December 30, 2013

Warren Buffett Buys PSX Unit For $1.4 Billion

Reuters via Yahoo!News is reporting:
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc struck a deal to buy a Phillips 66 business that makes chemicals to improve the flow potential of pipelines for around $1.4 billion of stock Phillips 66 said on Monday that Berkshire will pay for the unit, Phillips Specialty Products Inc, using about 19 million shares of Phillips 66 stock that it currently owns.

"I have long been impressed by the strength of the Phillips 66 business portfolio," Buffett said in a statement. "The flow improver business is a high-quality business with consistently strong financial performance."

2 comments:

  1. Does this mean Obama will approve keystone now that Buffet is getting into the pipeline business ?

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    Replies
    1. In my original reply, I was wrong. The reader was correct -- I was completely wrong. So I will edit the reply.

      The reader absolutely correct; the PSX unit that Buffett/BRK bought was a unit that made chemicals to improve pipeline flow.

      Regardless of whether the Keystone XL is approved, there are thousands / millions (?) of miles of pipeline that might benefit. So, again, the reader got this one right.

      But as long as you asked, my hunch is the president will approve the permit application for the Keystone XL. He will do it without fanfare, no photo op, and probably attached to a larger, more comprehensive energy bill that might actually be a set back for the oil industry. The Keystone XL is no longer perceived as necessary by Bakken operators; the Bakken operators get nice netbacks on oil shipped by rail; the activists have made their point; and, there is increased media attention to rail derailments -- all of these suggest to me that the President will approve the application. The only question is the timing in relation to the 2014 elections.

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