ConocoPhillips said on Thursday it would spin off its refining and marketing operation, in hopes each arm would be worth more as a separate company.

* ConocoPhillips is the largest refiner in the United States, solely operating about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of capacity and an additional 254,000 bpd through its 50 percent share at two refineries it operates with Canada's Cenovus Energy, U.S. government data shows.

* The company is the only refiner in the United States with major assets in all the main refinery hubs in the Gulf, East Coast and West Coast, and the Midwest. About 41 percent of Conoco's refining capacity is concentrated in the Gulf Coast.

* Conoco owns five refineries in four other countries, according to its website. Of these, it owns or has an interest in four refineries in Europe, with an aggregate rated crude oil capacity of 610,000 bpd.

* Conoco's 260,000-bpd Wilhelmshaven refinery in Germany, idle since the end of 2009 due to poor margins, will likely be shut off, the International Energy Agency said in June. Trade sources had told Reuters the refinery would remain shut over the summer following a May fire.

* With the spin-off, Conoco's new downstream company will be the biggest independent in the business, displacing Valero , which has long held that position.

* Conoco's 238,000-bpd Linden, New Jersey refinery dominates the U.S. East Coast refining market, which companies such as Valero have exited. An early June fire at the Linden plant decimated refinery capacity use in the region by 7.1 percentage points in the following week.

* The company recently announced plans to reduce its refining capacity over a two-year period ending in 2012.

(Source: Company website)

(Compiled by Selam Gebrekidan;editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid and Dale Hudson)

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