Wednesday October 25, 8:33 am Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Tosco Corporation

Tosco Corporation Reports Third Quarter 2000 Results OLD GREENWICH, Conn., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Tosco Corporation announced today net income from operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2000 of $133.6 million ($0.87 per diluted share) on sales of $6.9 billion. Reported net income for the quarter was $145.5 million ($0.95 per diluted share) which includes a one-time gain from the sale of the Avon Refinery of $20.0 million (after-tax $11.9 million, $.08 per diluted share). This quarter's net income from operations represents a 17% increase over net income for the quarter ended September 30, 1999 of $113.9 million ($0.74 per diluted share) on sales of $3.9 billion.

Net income for the first nine months of 2000 was $365.4 million ($2.40 per diluted share) on sales of $17.1 billion, a 61% increase over 1999's net income for the first nine months of $226.4 million ($1.45 per diluted share) on sales of $10.2 billion.

Commenting on the quarter, Thomas D. O'Malley, Tosco's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, ``Tosco enjoyed record third quarter earnings due to strong refining margins throughout our system. Refining fundamentals continue to remain strong as we begin the fourth quarter. The recent purchases of the Wood River and Alliance refineries increase Tosco's leverage to U.S. refining margins and should allow the company to profit from historically strong refining margins. Our system now totals some 1.35 million barrels of daily refining capacity and extends throughout the U.S., with a significant presence in four out of the five refining regions in the U.S. We have increased our refining capacity by 46% since the start of 2000. The fourth quarter will be the first quarter in which all of this capacity is operating for a full quarter.

``Our retail business on the other hand suffered its worst quarter ever. Typically, as crude oil prices rise, the street price of gasoline lags and there is a temporary erosion in the retail margin. Margins recover when wholesale prices stop rising. During the third quarter, in Southern California and Arizona, the heart of our retail system, street prices never rose enough to cover the wholesale price and these losses overwhelmed otherwise acceptable retail margins in the remainder of our system. The early part of the fourth quarter shows signs of improved retail margins across our full system and we expect retail results to be considerably improved over the third quarter.''

O'Malley continued, ``The addition of the Wood River Refinery in Illinois, the Alliance Refinery in Louisiana, and the ExxonMobil retail assets in the Northeast has given Tosco a large, high quality earnings base. Our acquisitions have been designed to not only improve both the earnings and financial strength of the Company, but to diversify operational and regional risk. As a result of these efforts, Tosco presently expects to earn more in the fourth quarter than the third quarter and is looking forward to record results in 2001. Tosco announced in the third quarter that it had entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of the Irish National Petroleum Corporation. We expect this transaction to close by year end and be accretive to 2001 earnings.''

Interested shareholders may listen to a conference call with analysts regarding this release on Wednesday, October 25 at 11:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time by calling (800)-553-5275 from within the U.S., or 651-224-7472 from outside the U.S.

If you are unable to participate in the conference call, you may listen to a replay of it through the end of the day on Thursday, October 26 by dialing 800-475-6701 from within the U.S., or 320-365-3844 from outside the U.S., and entering Access Code 511750.

Tosco Corporation, which currently has over $23 billion in annualized revenues, is the largest independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products in the United States, and is the nation's largest operator of company-controlled convenience stores.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE ``SAFE HARBOR'' PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

Certain statements contained in this news release are ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The words ``believe,'' ``expects,'' ``could,'' ``looks forward,'' and other similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Important factors (but not necessarily the only important factors) that could cause the results to differ materially from those expected are: delay in completing a project or projects, operational difficulties, varying market conditions, actions of government, and other risks noted from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission and other filings. The company's forward-looking statements are expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that they will be achieved.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 27, 2000