PORT READING, N.J. - Hess Corp. is exiting the refinery business, selling off its terminals and closing its New Jersey refinery, the only location the company ran, Petro Plaza News reports.

The decision "will complete [our] transformation from an integrated oil and gas company to one that is predominantly an exploration and production company and be able to redeploy substantial additional capital to fund its future growth opportunities," said John Hess, CEO and chairman.

The move comes amid other decisions by oil companies to separate the refining of oil and gas from the exploring/extracting of fuel. Within the last two years, ConocoPhillips spun off its refinery business into Phillips 66, while Marathon Petroleum Corp. separated from Marathon Oil Corp. Overall, refineries on the East Coast have struggled in recent years, with several closing or being reconfigured for other business recently, according to the news source.

Analysts predict that sale of Hess terminals, with their location around New York Harbor, will bring in between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. The company predicts the sale, plus leaving refining behind, will shoot around $1 billion into its capital reserves. Hess has other sources for petroleum to run its marketing and retail locations.