I think this operation was barely profitable so it's not a slam dunk. My experience in business is that when big companies diversify into areas where they have no experience it often goes badly.
That’s true, they don’t have expertise in this area and it could be cumbersome. Perhaps they will structure it in such a way that it’s a quasi-independent unit or at any rate in such a way that they can easily spin it off if it becomes a problem.
One of Delta’s big advantages as a company is that they are non-union, so there might be big savings to them on the cost of fuel if they eliminate the unions from the mix. Then again, I’m not sure this is possible.
Monroe LLC, as in Monroe, LA, either has experience in the oil biz or has people who know both business and technical sides of refining.
I have preferred Delta for a long time, because they have a different attitude than “f___ you” airlines like AA and United. Only glitch was when they bought scummy NorthWest and stupidly keep on some of the NW folks who obviously tried to wreck Delta.