Oil giants are spinning off refiners faster than Casanova changed dance partners.

But investors looking for some evidence of just how those spinoffs will materialize have only had speculation to chew on. No more, as ConocoPhillips comes out of the gate with its refinery spin-off, which will include chemical and pipeline units. Investors may well take notice.

Some investors have already taken a real shine to Conoco in the aftermath of the spinoff news. CNBC's Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, has been touting Conoco's stock for weeks now. He says that the company has a sterling price-to-earnings ratio of 8.6, and a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 7.8. He also likes the 3.88 stock dividend.

He has already put his stamp of approval on the spinoff, which essentially breaks the oil giant into two companies. Conoco stock initially shot up 7 points, to $81 per share, but has drifted downward to its current level of $64 per share. Cramer calls Conoco a "bargain" and expects the stock price to skyrocket to $104, noting that the company's exploration and production side is moving at a fast clip, especially when compared to its refinery side. That's value that has not been factored into Conoco's stock price.

Cramer also noted that Conoco has a five-star rating from Morningstar.

Now Conoco is looking to add even more value to the company stock, providing more clarity to the spinoff, which is expected to occur in 2012.

Here are some numbers straight from Conoco, based on a slide presentation at a recent conference hosted by Barclays Plc in New York City:

  • The spinoff will total $50 billion in assets
  • The deal should generate $20 billion in shareholder value
  • The company will continue its 10% dividend growth rate (with a 32% dividend increase rate of 32% since 2009 (to slow to 5% growth from 2013 to 2015)
  • Conoco will trim balance sheet by $5.5 billion
  • Will generate $25- to $30 billion in cash from Lukoil sale and other sales assets
  • A new three-year growth plan from 2013 to 2015, that will invest in "high return refining projects" and see a "significant" growth in midstream and chemicals
  • Stockholders will receive one share of new company stock for two shares of ConocoPhillips (Stock Quote: COP)
  • Asset sales should rise from $4 billion in 2011 to $10 billion in 2012
  • Post spin off market value should reach $80 billion

Conoco is rumored to be selling some of its U.S. east coast refineries, although, for the record, the company has officially denied such a move. That's not stopping stock analysts from predicting that the sales will go down. "Conoco has indicated its intent to sell its east coast Linden and Trainer refineries," analysts at energy investment bank Simmons & Co. said in a note to clients on Sept. 4.

Various reports have Conoco shedding refineries in Linden, New Jersey, and in Trainer, Pennsylvania – two older refineries that haven’t contributed much to the company’s bottom line.

Analysts also say the company's real growth drivers should come from its chemical and pipeline verticals. Ann Kohler, an analyst at CRT Capital Group, says that Conoco’s stock is "fairly valued" and that the areas mentioned above will provide robust growth.

Kohler is not alone. Fadel Gheit, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co., has a rating on Conoco stock of Outperform.

Still, not everyone on Wall Street is bullish on COP. Citigroup has some reservations on Conoco's growth prospects, restating its Hold rating on the stock in a recent research note. And analysts at UBS AG just slashed their rating on COP from $80.00 to $77.00, and have placed a Neutral rating on the stock.

Key Financials on ConocoPhillips
  • Stock price (as of September 12): $65.00
  • 52-week average: $53.59
  • 52-week high: $81.80
  • 50-day moving average: $68.67
  • 200-day moving average: $73.87
  • Market cap: $91.22 billion
  • Price-to-earnings ratio: 8.38

Some analysts are comparing the Conoco spinoff to a recent plan by Marathon (Stock Quote: MRO), but investors should tread cautiously.

The Conoco deal has more moving parts than the Marathon deal did; has significantly more miles of pipeline to manage; and also has significantly more assets to move around than Marathon did. That disparity has some Wall Street insiders hesitant to give the Conoco split their whole-hearted blessing.

"I think we won't see as clear a break up as we did with Marathon," offers Allen Good, an analyst with Morningstar, in a statement to Reuters last week. "They may have to get more creative with their joint-venture partnerships."

While COP readies its new look, investors may take a wait-and-see approach to Conoco. On Wall Street, the tendency is to wait for some other guy to make the first move. And there's little evidence that investors are going to jump in, feet-first.

Not until they get a clearer vision of what the new Conoco will look like. And that could be a year from now.