Two big deals affecting the refinery of crude oil in the Northeast were announced this week: Delta Air Lines will buy a Philadelphia area refinery and Sunoco Inc. is being sold for $5.3 billion.
Energy Transfer Partners LP said Monday it plans to buy oil giant Sunoco, which has a Philadelphia-area refinerythat had been slated for closure, which led to concerns earlier this year about ultra-low-sulfur diesel supplies.
Sunoco, based in Philadelphia, had been closing or selling its refineries to focus on pipelines and storage, Bloomberg reported. The company also has almost 5,000 Sunoco-branded filling stations.
Meanwhile, Delta’s plan to buy a refinery for $180 million, also in the Philadelphia area, will bring some of its jet-fuel production in house, in an attempt to save the No. 2 global airline money, Bloomberg reported.
It is buying a Trainer, Pa., refinery that Phillips 66 had targeted for shutdown that can refine 185,000 barrels per day of crude oil. Delta said it will spend $100 million to convert the refinery to maximize production of jet fuel, while lowering gasoline output.
The plant will boost its jet-fuel output to 32%, from its current 14%, while lowering gasoline output to 43%, from 52%, the New York Times reported Tuesday. No percentage was given for diesel, which, like jet fuel, is a distillate byproduct of the refining process.
