Sunoco to place most assets in new limited partnership

By the OGJ Online Staff

HOUSTON, Sept. 7 -- Sunoco Inc. said Thursday it would form a master limited partnership, Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, to own and operate a substantial part of its assets.

The company said it would file a registration statement in September for a public offering of common units in the partnership.

Sunoco, Inc., headquartered in Philadelphia, refines and markets petroleum and petrochemical products. It is one of the largest independent refiner-marketers in the US with 730,000 b/d of refining capacity, 4,100 retail sites selling gasoline and convenience items, interests in more than 10,000 miles of crude oil and refined product pipelines, and 35 product terminals.

The company has more than 9 billion lb/year of petrochemicals production capacity, largely chemical intermediates used in the manufacture of fibers, plastics, film, and resins.

It also uses a proprietary technology to make 2 million tons/year of high-quality metallurgical-grade coke for use in the steel industry.