Tulsa workers affected by closings

Thursday, March 22nd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Sunoco Inc. will shut down lubricant-blend plants in Oklahoma, California and Pennsylvania and a refinery in Puerto Rico, the company announced Wednesday.

John G. Drosdick, Sunoco's chairman, chief executive and president, said the company has tried to sell the facilities, but haven't been able to reach any deals.

``Last September we announced our intention to exit a significant portion of our lubricants business _ branded marketing under the Kendall and Sunoco labels and manufacturing at our Yabucoa refinery,'' Drosdick said. ``These decisions were made because these assets had not generated a sufficient return on capital employed.''

About 60 people will be laid off during the next few months in Tulsa, company spokeswoman Jayme Cox said.

A refinery in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, will close in May, leaving 220 employees out of work.

A blend plant in the Philadelphia suburb of Marcus Hook, which handles products from Yabucoa, will be shut down in early July when its inventories are depleted. The closing will affect 96 workers.

Sunoco, based in Philadelphia, has about 11,000 employees worldwide.