Press report puts CVR refinery deal above $4 billion, with no official confirmation available
Key Facts
Investing.com, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that CVR Energy was close to a deal worth more than $4 billion to buy refineries from Marathon Petroleum. The report said an announcement was expected on the morning of Tuesday, November 3, 2026, if negotiations did not collapse. The account describes the deal as a potential expansion of CVR’s refining assets, while the cited report provided no confirmed details on the assets or terms of the agreement. Marathon’s published second-quarter 2026 data show a significant improvement in income and refining margins compared with the same period a year earlier. Marathon is scheduled to discuss its third-quarter results on a call set for November 3 at 11 a.m. Eastern time.
CVR operates two refineries in the U.S. Midwest with combined nameplate capacity of 206,500 barrels per day and average complexity of 10.8, according to the company’s profile page. If the reported deal is completed, new refining assets would be added to the company’s existing base, but the report did not specify the target refineries’ capacity or location. Marathon’s data provide context on the assets it operates in the region: the St. Paul Park refinery in Minnesota has capacity of 105,000 barrels per calendar day. The Mandan refinery in North Dakota has capacity of 72,000 barrels per day and processes mainly domestic sweet crude. Mandan’s products are shipped by truck and rail, according to the refinery’s page.
Marathon’s data point to the region’s importance in the company’s portfolio: the Mid-Con region accounts for about 40% of its refining capacity, according to its 2026 investor update. The update described Canadian crude logistics as an advantage for the St. Paul Park, Detroit and Canton refineries. This information connects the potential target locations to a regional refining base and a Canadian crude logistics advantage at St. Paul Park. The cited report does not specify the supply or operating arrangements that might accompany the deal. Nor does it estimate the deal’s financial impact on CVR or the expected return from the assets.
In the second quarter of 2026, Marathon’s refining and marketing margin rose to $36.33 per barrel from $17.58 in the second quarter of 2025. Crude capacity utilization was 94%, while total throughput reached 2.9 million barrels per day. The company attributed the results mainly to higher crack spreads across all regions. Net income attributable to Marathon was $5.1 billion for the quarter, compared with $1.2 billion a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA reached $8.5 billion, versus $3.3 billion in the same period of 2025.
Marathon said it had $7.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2026, including $1.0 billion at MPLX. It added that it had not drawn any funds from its $5 billion revolving credit facility as of that date. CVR, meanwhile, reported net income of $46 million in the second quarter of 2026, compared with a net loss of $90 million in the same quarter of 2025. Chief Executive Dean Newman said ongoing global conflicts had created tight markets for energy and fertilizers. He added that the company’s assets were positioned to benefit from market conditions.
Investing.com, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that Carl Icahn owns about 71% of CVR’s shares, and that his son Brett Icahn is a board member. CVR’s page says its portfolio of companies generated about $7.6 billion in net sales in 2024 and had about 1,595 employees. CVR said it would release its third-quarter results before trading began on November 3 and hold a call to discuss them at 1 p.m. Eastern time. That is after Marathon’s scheduled call on its results at 11 a.m. the same day. The deal’s value, asset details and terms remain subject to announcements by the two companies.