OLD GREENWICH, Conn., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Premcor Inc. (NYSE: PCO) today announced that, due to the continuing poor
refining margin environment in its market areas, it expects to report a loss
before special items in the second quarter of 2002 in a range similar to that
reported in the first quarter of this year. The primary cause for the
company's poor results has been the very narrow spread between light sweet
crude oil and heavy sour crude oil. Production cutbacks by OPEC have been
concentrated in heavy sour crudes, hindering a recovery to a more normalized
light-heavy spread. Premcor has the ability to process substantial quantities
of sour and heavy sour crude, a significant advantage in normalized market
conditions.
Thomas D. O'Malley, Premcor's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and
President, said, "Premcor's margins at the end of June show some improvement
over the second quarter average, but the light-heavy spread needs to widen to
allow us to achieve a reasonable profit. Premcor's debt repayment in the
first half of June will lower interest costs by approximately $50 million per
annum, which will have a beneficial impact starting in the third quarter."
Premcor Inc. is one of the largest independent petroleum refiners and
marketers of unbranded transportation fuels and heating oil in the United
States.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the
company's current expectations with respect to future market conditions,
future operating results, the future performance of its refinery operations,
and future debt reductions. Words such as "expects," "intends," "plans,"
"projects," "believes," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "shall," and
similar expressions typically identify such forward-looking statements. Even
though Premcor believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that
its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from expectations include, but are not limited to,
operational difficulties, varying market conditions, potential changes in
gasoline, crude oil, distillate, and other commodity prices, government
regulations, and other factors contained from time to time in the reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the company and its
subsidiaries, Premcor USA Inc. and The Premcor Refining Group Inc., including
the company's Form S-1 and the company's and its subsidiaries' quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q, reports on Form 8-K, and annual reports on Form 10-K.
SOURCE Premcor Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.premcorinc.com
CONTACT:
Joe Watson of Premcor Inc., +1-203-698-7510
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