SUNOCO TO PROCEED WITH PURCHASE OF
ARISTECH CHEMICAL

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 15, 2000 - - Sunoco said today that it is pleased to report that the waiting period required by the Federal Trade Commission has expired and Sunoco's purchase of the Aristech chemical business may proceed as planned.

On November 9, Sunoco announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Pittsburgh-based Aristech Chemical Corporation.  Included in the purchase are five Aristech chemical plants located at Neal, WV, Haverhill, OH, Neville Island, PA, Pasadena and LaPorte, TX and a state-of-the-art research center in Pittsburgh.  Under the terms of the agreement, Sunoco will acquire the stock of Aristech from Mitsubishi Corporation.   The purchase price is $695 million, including approximately $115 million for working capital. 

Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN), headquartered in Philadelphia, is one of the largest independent petroleum refiner-marketers in the United States.  Sunoco operates five domestic refineries with 730,000 barrels-a-day of crude oil processing capacity and markets gasoline through more than 3,600 Sunoco retail outlets in 17 states from Maine to Virginia and west to Indiana.  Sunoco sells lubricants and petrochemicals worldwide, operates domestic pipelines and terminals, and manufactures metallurgical-grade coke for use in the steel industry.   For additional information, visit Sunoco’s web site at www.SunocoInc.com.