We are an independent energy company engaged in crude oil refining and the wholesale marketing of refined petroleum products. We operate refineries in Cheyenne, Wyoming and in El Dorado, Kansas with a total crude oil capacity of over 150,000 barrels per day. Frontier acquired the 110,000 barrels per day El Dorado refinery from Equilon Enterprises LLC effective November 17, 1999. The purchase price was $170 million plus a contingency payment of up to $40 million to be paid to Equilon over the next eight years if the cash flow generated by the El Dorado Refinery exceeds a certain threshold. Frontier also purchased the crude oil, intermediate product and finished product inventories at the plant at closing. Both of our refineries are complex refineries with significant upgrading capacity, which means that they can process heavier, less expensive types of crude oil and still produce a high percentage of gasoline, diesel fuel and other high margin refined products. We focus our marketing efforts in the Rocky Mountain region and the Plains States, which we believe are among the most attractive refined products markets in the United States.
Cheyenne Refinery
Our Cheyenne refinery has a permitted crude capacity of 52,000 barrels per day. We market its refined products primarily in the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountain region, which encompasses eastern Colorado (including the Denver metropolitan area) and eastern Wyoming. The Cheyenne refinery has a coking unit, which allows the refinery to process up to 100% heavy crude oil for use as a feedstock. The ability to process heavy crude oil lowers our crude supply costs because heavy crude oil is generally less expensive than other types of crude oil. Historically heavy crude oil has accounted for 85% or more of the Cheyenne refinery's crude oil charge and the Cheyenne refinery's product mix included gasoline (41%), diesel fuel (30%) and asphalt and other refined petroleum products (29%). Crude oil is purchased from local producers and also imported via the Express Pipeline from Canada.
El Dorado Refinery
The El Dorado refinery is one of the largest refineries in the Plains States and the Rocky Mountain region, with a permitted crude capacity of 110,000 barrels per day. The El Dorado refinery can select from many different types of crude oil because of its direct access to the Cushing, Oklahoma hub. This access, combined with the El Dorado refinery's complexity, gives it the flexibility to refine a wide variety of crude oils. Frontier entered into a 15-year refined product offtake agreement for gasoline and diesel production at this refinery with Equiva Trading Company, an affiliate of Equilon. The refined product offtake agreement will allow us to maximize the operating efficiency of the El Dorado refinery during the initial years of our ownership. As our commitments to Equilon under the refined product offtake agreement decline over the next ten years, we will market an increasing portion of the El Dorado refinery's gasoline and diesel in the same markets in which Equilon marketed the El Dorado refinery's production, primarily the Denver and Kansas City metropolitan areas. We have also entered into a one-year foreign crude supply agreement with Equiva. The El Dorado refinery's product mix includes gasoline (55%), diesel and jet fuel (34%) and asphalt, chemicals and other refined petroleum products (11%).
Frontier's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FTO". Corporate headquarters are located in Houston, Texas and operations are located in Denver, Colorado, Cheyenne, Wyoming and El Dorado, Kansas.
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