With Gas Prices High, U.S. Refinery Closures Hit Workers and Drivers
The economic pain of U.S. East Coast refinery closures may spread beyond job losses. Already high gas prices could climb still higher as summer approaches.
But Sunoco's storied South Philadelphia refinery may be cooking its final barrels.
Sunoco is getting out of the refining business. If a buyer is not found for the sprawling facility, it will be shut down on July 1, just like the company's other old refinery 12 miles to the south, Marcus Hook, which was idled in December. Several weeks later, ConocoPhillips closed its adjacent refinery on the Delaware River. Together, the three refineries employed 1,200 workers represented by the United Steelworkers of America and nearly as many salaried and contract workers. They manufactured 50 percent of the petroleum fuels produced on the East Coast of the United States.
The closures and potential closure mark a profound change taking place in the oil
