Good morning,

Is  Delaware City refinery owner PBF Energy on the prowl for more refineries?

The five-refinery company is coming off another strong quarter.  

PBF, which got its start with the purchase of a shuttered Delaware City refinery that was slated for demolition during the 2008-2009  downturn ,  has been mentioned a while back as a buyer of smaller refineries.

The northern New Jersey company has been careful in it acquisition strategy, knowing the dangers and complexities of the business. We got a reminder of those risks with an explosion at a tiny refinery in Superior, WI.

PBF ’s last two acquisitions near New Orleans and in Southern California involved refines owned or partially owned by energy giant Exxon,  a company not afraid to spend some bucks on upkeep.

The biggest risk came in buying the Torrance, CA refinery.   That  Exxon site had been closed after an explosion in the affluent coastal city  a few miles away from the home of the Wilson family of Beach Boys fame.

At what now appears to be a  bargain price, PBF ended up with a key refinery and pipelines that extend to the California oil fields and the fuel-hungry Los Angeles International Airport.

Operations, to date, have gone smoothly, although some in the community remain uneasy.

The stock price is now in record territory at $47 a share as the company floats a stock issue to finance projects that could include a hydrogen plant at Delaware City that was shelved earlier.

Speculation that PBF might snap another refinery or two has cooled in the past few months.

So far, the company stayed out of the Texas, New Mexico Oklahoma, Kansas market,  a region with a scattering  of smaller refineries as well as surging oil production that is running in excess of refinery capacity.

The company might pounce, if the right deal comes along, but has no plans to grow for growth’s sake.

Here’s hoping your basement is dry.  The newsletter returns tomorrow. – Doug Rainey, publisher.