Congressional Delegation Visits Delaware County Over Threatened Refinery Closures
MARCUS HOOK, Pa. (CBS) - A meeting today in Marcus Hook brought together stakeholders in the battle to find new owners for three local oil refineries that could shut down for good within a year.
Delaware County has the most to lose, with refineries here in Marcus Hook and in nearby Trainer now on the block (see related stories). Between them, plus one in Southwest Philadelphia, US congressman Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) figures some 2,600 jobs are on the line.
But he and other members of the local Congressional delegation are optimistic.
"There are people right now who are kicking the tires on this refinery," Meehan told reporters.
Still, there are economic challenges and foreign competition to deal with, and union leaders like Jim Savage, representing workers at Sunoco's Philadelphia plant, are concerned.
However, he adds, "any buyer that wants to come in here is getting a world-class workforce on the cheap, as far as I'm concerned."
The bottom line here is to make the Conoco-Phillips plant in Trainer and the two Sunoco plants attractive to a new owner, and everybody is confident they can make that happen.
Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio 1060
