Chevron may sell refineries to optimize business: executive

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Chevron Corp (CVX.N) may sell refineries as it continues to focus its downstream business on Asia-Pacific markets, a company vice president said on Tuesday during a presentation to Wall Street analysts.

"I won't advertise any particular rationalization going forward on the refining side," said John Watson, Chevron's executive vice president for strategy and investment in a webcast of the presentation. "There are some possibilities but I'm not going to speculate what they might be."

During his presentation at the Merrill Lynch Global Energy Large Cap Conference, Watson said Chevron has successfully rationalized other parts of its downstream business by selling marketing and lubricant production assets in South America, Africa and Europe that didn't fit the San Ramon, California,-based company's focus on the Pacific Rim.

Chevron owns or has ownership interests in 13 major refineries worldwide, 11 of which, including six U.S. refineries, supply the Asia-Pacific markets, Watson said.

The two not included as serving the Asia-Pacific markets are refineries in Britain and South Africa, according to slides accompanying the presentation.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by David Gregorio)