OREANDA-NEWS. Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) reported 2014 second-quarter earnings of USD 855 million, or USD 2.95 per diluted share, compared with USD 593 million, or USD 1.83 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2013. Second-quarter 2014 earnings included pretax pension settlement expenses of USD 5 million, compared with USD 60 million for the second quarter of 2013.

"We had an outstanding quarter, with our focus on top-tier operational performance across the MPC refining, marketing and transportation system continuing to yield excellent results," said President and CEO Gary R. Heminger. "Our integrated system operated very well, enabling us to efficiently meet consumers' needs and capture higher product price realizations in the markets where we do business.

"I'm especially pleased with our smooth ramp-up following the largest combined turnaround activity in our history, which we executed in the first quarter," added Heminger, "and the tremendous response by our team in Garyville, La., to bring the facility back on line quickly after it was hit by a tornado in late May."

Heminger noted that balancing return of capital to shareholders with investments in the business remains a priority. MPC purchased USD 459 million of its shares in the second quarter. On July 30, the MPC board of directors authorized up to an additional USD 2 billion of share repurchases through July 2016 and increased the quarterly dividend to USD 0.50 per share. During the 12 months ended June 30, MPC returned USD 3.1 billion of capital to shareholders, representing a yield against average share price of 13.5 percent.

"We also have made excellent progress on our strategic priority of growing our higher-valued, stable cash-flow businesses as we continue returning capital to shareholders," said Heminger. In the midstream, he noted that MPC recently exercised its option to acquire a 35 percent ownership interest in Enbridge Inc.'s Southern Access Extension pipeline project. This investment positions MPC as an equity owner in a system that will increase MPC's access to crude oil from an important region for North American production. The Southern Access Extension pipeline is expected to be in service mid-2015. MPC expects to invest approximately USD 295 million in the pipeline project.

On the retail side, Heminger said MPC has received notice that the Federal Trade Commission has concluded its review of the acquisition of Hess Retail Holdings LLC by MPC subsidiary Speedway LLC, which continues to prepare for a closing later this year. The company anticipates the acquisition will be a source of long-term value to MPC, resulting in Speedway growing to more than 2,700 stores in 23 states, and also adding transport operations and shipper history on various pipelines.