Trafigura US Holdings, has signed strategic agreements with CVR Energy,  to support its intended acquisition of the Mandan refinery in North Dakota and the St. Paul Park refinery in Minnesota from subsidiaries and affiliates of Marathon Petroleum Corporation . The acquisition was separately announced today by CVR and Marathon.

Under the agreement, Trafigura will subscribe for USD800 million of new CVR shares to acquire a minority stake at the closing of the acquisition. Following the successful closing of CVR’s acquisition, Trafigura Trading LLC will become the exclusive supplier of crude oil and intermediation counterparty to the acquired refineries and will enter into certain petroleum product offtake arrangements. Trafigura’s combined equity investment and intermediation support will exceed USD1 billion.

The two refineries are important contributors to fuel supply in the mid-continent region and these agreements with Trafigura will enable them to benefit from a secure supply of crude oil and a reliable route to market for U.S.-produced fuels.

Rob Kreider, President of Trafigura US Holdings, Inc., said: “We are pleased to support CVR in this transaction. Our agreement reflects how we work with counterparties to build resilient supply chains and marks an important next step in the growth of our US energy business.”

“The Mid-Continent is a vital part of the US energy system, connecting producers and consumers across the country, and we see an opportunity to strengthen those connections through our logistics and trading network. Robust domestic refining capacity is essential to America’s energy security and we are proud to play our part in supporting it. We look forward to working with CVR Energy in the years ahead.”

The Trafigura Group has a history of more than three decades of working with refineries around the world through direct investment, capacity utilisation, and supply and offtake agreements.