Delta Inks 5-Year Pact for US Crude

Delta Air Lines Inc, trying to boost savings on manufacturing of jet fuel, said on Monday it reached a five-year agreement with a Dallas energy company for 65,000 daily barrels of U.S. crude oil to be supplied to its Pennsylvania refinery.

Delta subsidiary Monroe Energy said in a statement its accord with Bridger LLC will supply about one-third of the oil refined daily at the Trainer refinery in suburban Philadelphia. Combined with other U.S. crude supplies, the Bridger deal will help Delta meet its goal of having a minimum of 70,000 barrels a day of U.S. crude sourcing at the refinery.

Bridger supplies oil from major U.S. production regions and basins including Permian, Bakken, Rockies and Gulf Coast, among others, the statement from the companies said. Crude from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota replaces the more expensive imported oil that the Trainer refinery has traditionally received, the statement added.

Delta bought the refinery in 2012 in a bid to save on fuel costs, its largest expense. It has said alternative sources of crude can help increase fuel-manufacturing savings.

(Reporting by Karen Jacobs in Atlanta; Editing by Nick Zieminski)