Energy Transfer Partners LP has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Sunoco Inc. in a unit and cash transaction valued at $5.3 billion.
Sunoco has been withdrawing from the refining business and now operates mainly as a logistics and retail business, owning the general partner interest of Sunoco Logistics Partners LP. It has said it will close its 330,000-b/d Philadelphia refinery in July if it doesn’t find a buyer but recently disclosed discussions about operating the facility under a joint venture with Carlyle Group (OGJ Online, Apr. 23, 2012).
Sunoco Logistics owns 2,500 miles of products pipelines in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southwest US and equity interests in four products pipelines. It also owns 5,400 miles of crude oil pipelines, mainly in Texas and Oklahoma. Its terminal facilities include 42 million bbl of product and crude oil storage capacity.
Sunoco Logistics terminals include the 22-million-bbl Nederland Terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast and the 5-million-bbl Eagle Point Terminal on the Delaware River in New Jersey.
Sunoco Inc. owns about 4,900 retail operations in 23 states.
ETP owns 23,500 miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines in 10 states, as well as treating and processing properties and three storage facilities. It owns a 70% interest in Lone Star NGL, which operates storage, fractionation, and transportation assets in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.