Sunoco to shut down Philadelphia and Marcus Hook refineries

Philadelphia-based Sunoco, Inc. announced this morning that it plans to exit the refining business and will shut down or sell its refineries in South Philadelphia and Marcus Hook.

Sunoco chairman and CEO Lynn L. Elsenhans said in a statement today that, though the refineries have made progress over the last several years, “given the unacceptable financial performance of these assets, it is clear that it is in the best interests of shareholders to exit this business and focus on our profitable retail and logistics businesses which have higher returns, growth potential, and provide steady, ratable cash flow.”

If Sunoco is unable to sell the refineries by July of next year, the company plans to idle their main processing units.

Sunoco also announced that it has retained financial services firm Credit Suisse Securities to conduct a strategic review of the company to determine the best way to proceed profitably.

“Together with the separation of SunCoke Energy and the sale of the chemicals business, Sunoco’s decision to exit refining marks a fundamental shift away from manufacturing that will re-position the company,” a release stated this morning.