SUNOCO TO CLOSE LA PORTE, TEXAS POLYPROPYLENE LINE TO OPTIMIZE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES

PHILADELPHIA, May 8, 2002 -- Sunoco, Inc. today announced that Sunoco Chemicals, a business unit of Sunoco, will permanently shut down a 200 million pound-per-year polypropylene line at its La Porte, TX plant during the third quarter of 2002. The La Porte plant operates three lines and produces one billion pounds per year of polypropylene. Currently Sunoco Chemicals operates six polypropylene lines company-wide with an annual production capacity of 2.3 billion pounds.

Sunoco Chemicals has made a concerted effort to optimize the use of both the assets acquired from Aristech Chemical and those for which it recently assumed management responsibility from Epsilon Products. These efforts along with this shutdown will allow for operational efficiencies benefiting the organization and the customers it serves. The remaining capacity, which is in excess of 2.0 billion pounds per year, will allow Sunoco to remain a top-five polypropylene producer in North America.

Bruce G. Fischer, senior vice president of Sunoco said, "Sunoco is taking this action because current trends in the markets for polyolefins have made it prohibitive to produce products on older assets with high conversion costs. Sunoco remains committed to the polypropylene business in North America, and as a result of this action will be better positioned for growth in the future."

In addition to the La Porte facility, Sunoco Chemicals’ polypropylene plants are located at Neal, WV and Marcus Hook, PA. A Technology & Commercial Center located in Pittsburgh, PA is dedicated to product development and technical support for Sunoco’s polypropylene business.

Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN), headquartered in Philadelphia, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of petroleum and petrochemical products. With 730,000 barrels per day of refining capacity, over 4,150 retail outlets selling gasoline and convenience items, interests in over 10,000 miles of crude oil and refined product pipelines and 35 product terminals, Sunoco is one of the largest independent refiner-marketers in the United States. Sunoco is a growing force in petrochemicals with over nine billion pounds of annual production capacity, largely chemical intermediates used in the manufacture of fibers, plastics, film and resins. Utilizing a unique, patented technology, Sunoco also manufactures two million tons annually of high-quality blast furnace coke for use in the steel industry.