CHS Will Become Sole Owner of Refiner NCRA

MCPHERSON, Kan., Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CHS Inc. (Nasdaq: CHSCP) and the two minority owners of the National Cooperative Refinery Association have reached agreement to transfer full ownership of the petroleum refiner to CHS, currently its majority shareholder.

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Under the agreement between CHS of Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; GROWMARK, Inc., of Bloomington, Ill., and MFA Oil Co. of Columbia, Mo., CHS will purchase additional interest in the McPherson, Kan., refinery in annual increments beginning on Sept. 1, 2012. The four transactions will culminate on Sept. 1, 2015. CHS currently owns 74.4 percent of NCRA, with GROWMARK and MFA Oil holding 18.6 percent and 6.9 percent respectively. 

"As the nation's leading cooperative energy company, becoming the sole owner of NCRA is an important part of adding value for our members through CHS strategic direction as the leading energy supplier to rural America," said Jay Debertin, CHS executive vice president and chief operating officer Energy and Foods and currently chairman of the NCRA Board of Directors. 

NCRA was created in 1943 with the purchase of the former Globe Refinery by five farmer-owned cooperatives.  Today, NCRA consists of an 85,000 barrels-per-day refinery, along with offsite storage at Conway, Kan., 1,500 miles of crude oil and refined products pipeline, and a terminal in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  In October, NCRA announced it will construct a new $555 million Delayed Coking Unit at the refinery beginning in 2013, replacing a 60-year-old system. While the new coker will not increase overall refinery production, it will be built to accommodate potential future expansion.

CHS also owns a 55,000 barrels-per-day refinery at Laurel, Mont., along with crude and products pipelines and refined fuels terminals.

NCRA's 650 employees will become CHS employees when the purchase is completed in 2015.

CHS Inc. (www.chsinc.com) is the nation's leading cooperative, owned by farmers, ranchers and co-ops across the United States.  A diversified energy, grains and foods business and a Fortune 100 company, CHS is committed to providing the essential resources that enrich lives around the world. CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products. CHS preferred stock is listed on the NASDAQ at CHSCP.

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligations to publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. For a discussion of additional factors that may materially affect management's estimates and predictions, please view the CHS Inc. annual report filed on Form 10-K for the year ended Aug. 31, 2011, which can be found on the Securities and Exchange Commission web site (www.sec.gov) or on the CHS web site www.chsinc.com.

SOURCE CHS Inc.