Sunoco Inc., and The Carlyle Group, L.P., have completed the formation of Philadelphia Energy Solutions, a joint venture (JV) that will operate the Philadelphia refinery. The refinery processes 330,000 bpd of crude oil into various refined products.

Under JV agreement terms, The Carlyle Group will hold the controlling interest and will oversee the refinery and the JV’s day-to-day operations. In exchange for contributing its refinery assets to the JV, Sunoco retained a 33% nonoperating minority interest.

Specialty chemicals group LANXESS has opened its first production plant for high-tech plastics in the US. With the new facility in Gastonia, North Carolina, the company will reportedly help to meet the growing demand for premium, lightweight plastics.

The company has invested $20 million in this new Gastonia plant, and is creating up to 45 new jobs. The plant will initially operate with a capacity of 20,000 metric tpy.

In the new compounding plant, basic polymers, such as polyamide and polybutylene terephthalate, are mixed and refined with special additives and glass fibers, according to customer needs, to produce Durethan and Pocan brands. HP