Refinery

For a region that faced the threat of having the heart ripped out of its oil industry with the closure of two Delaware River refineries, it was good to hear that Sunoco Inc.'s Philadelphia refinery will keep pumping.   Beyond saving 850 jobs at the refinery, the new operator — the Washington-based private-equity firm Carlyle Group — hopes to add another 200 jobs as it modernizes and expands the sprawling facility in South Philadelphia. At the same time, workers continued returning to the former ConocoPhillips refinery in Delaware County, where they will retool the refinery to produce jet fuel for a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.

Ownership of another Philadelphia-area refinery is about to change. NuStar Energy L.P. said it would sell 50 percent of its asphalt operations, which include refineries in Paulsboro, N.J., and Savannah, Ga., to a joint venture in a transaction expected to be completed by Sept. 30. Lindsay Goldberg L.L.C., a New York private-equity firm with $10 billion under management, will pay $175 million for a 50 percent interest in the joint venture, with San Antonio-based NuStar holding the other 50 percent stake.

Braskem America, the subsidiary of a Brazilian industrial firm that bought Sunoco Chemical two years ago, said it had it acquired the propylene splitter assets at Sunoco's closed refinery in Marcus Hook. The unit produces material used by Braskem in its neighboring plant to manufacture polypropylene plastic. "This transaction represents an important step in preserving the viability of Braskem's Marcus Hook polypropylene facility for the foreseeable future and solidifying Braskem's continued commitment to the North American petrochemical market," the company, which is based in Philadelphia, said in a statement.

IN THE REGION Gamesa laying off Pa. employees Gamesa USA, the Spanish wind-turbine manufacturer with U.S. headquarters in Langhorne, is planning to lay off a total of 165 employees at its two Pennsylvania plants starting in August, citing a drop in demand for its made-to-order product, a company representative confirmed Thursday. The job cuts — 92 at Gamesa's Fairless Hills plant, where giant hubs for wind turbines and the compartments that hold the components used to generate power are made, and 73 at its blade-making factory in Ebensburg in Western Pennsylvania — are expected to be temporary.

Sunoco Inc. officials thought U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the city's Democratic Party boss, was blowing smoke when he told them in February that the White House was concerned about the imminent closure of the company's Philadelphia refinery. But then, at Brady's request, President Obama's top economic adviser, Gene Sperling, organized a conference call with Sunoco chief executive Brian P. MacDonald. Brady and Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman joined the 5:30 p.m. call on March 8. The officials told the Sunoco chief that the White House was worried about the adverse economic effects of closing the largest refinery in the Northeastern United States.

Charles Wilson can hardly wait for Thursday. That's when he'll next report to his job at Sunoco's South Philadelphia refinery. To repeat for emphasis: He is going to report to his job at the refinery. "It's a breath of fresh air," said Wilson, 51, of Woodlyn, Delaware County. Or maybe it's a sigh of relief, one giant exhale, not only for Wilson, but for his 850 coworkers at the plant. Gone is the heavy fear of being one of Sunoco's doomed castoffs, rendered useless along with its sprawling South Philadelphia refinery that had been slated to close.

Workers are returning to the former ConocoPhillips refinery in Trainer, to begin steps toward resuming fuel production in September, a move that new owner Delta Air Lines hopes can cut its jet-fuel bill by $300 million a year. A Delta subsidiary, Monroe Energy L.L.C., closed on the $180 million purchase of the idled oil refinery on June 22. Three days later, the first workers arrived to begin a turnaround, which is a maintenance procedure, and to modify some units and do routine inspections.

Sunoco Inc.'s Philadelphia refinery, which was threatened with closure at the end of this month, will be reborn as an "energy hub. " The Carlyle Group, a Washington private-equity manager, announced plans Monday to operate the refinery with Sunoco as a joint venture called Philadelphia Energy Solutions. The venture will save 850 jobs at the refinery, the largest fuel-production plant in the northeastern United States, and may employ hundreds more if plans to expand production are realized.

Brian P. MacDonald, the son of a coal miner, grew up in a small town in Canada that was devastated by the deindustrialization of North America. "Our whole community got wiped out when we lost all of our coal mines, we lost our steel plant," said MacDonald, 46, who grew up in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. "Our whole area basically got wiped out, and I saw it happen in my teenage years. " So when MacDonald became chief executive officer of Sunoco Inc. on March 1 and public officials begged him to save the company's 1,400-acre Philadelphia refinery complex from imminent closure, their pleas had a special resonance.