July 5, 2012:

Sunoco Inc. officials thought U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the city's Democratic Party boss, was blowing smoke when he told them in February that the White House was concerned about the imminent closure of the company's Philadelphia refinery. But then, at Brady's request, President Obama's top economic adviser, Gene Sperling, organized a conference call with Sunoco chief executive Brian P. MacDonald. Brady and Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman joined the 5:30 p.m. call on March 8. The officials told the Sunoco chief that the White House was worried about the adverse economic effects of closing the largest refinery in the Northeastern United States. The political implications were unspoken: Pump prices were escalating during an election year, and the president could not afford the loss of 850 refinery jobs.  MacDonald told them about Sunoco's fruitless six-month effort to find a buyer. But he said one outfit might have the muscle to pull off a deal if it were structured right: the Carlyle Group, a Washington private-equity firm.

The March 8 conference call proved to be a pivotal moment in the effort to keep the refinery operating. That effort ended successfully with Monday's announcement that Carlyle and Sunoco will run the 330,000-barrel-a-day plant as a joint venture called Philadelphia Energy Solutions. As soon as the conference call was over, MacDonald said, he left a message on the cell phone of Carlyle managing director Rodney S. Cohen, who, in a previous role with Pegasus Capital Advisors, had turned around a troubled refinery in Coffeyville, Kan., for a hefty profit. The same evening, White House officials called their contacts at Carlyle to urge them to talk to Sunoco. Sperling and David M. Marchick, Carlyle's managing director for external affairs, had both worked in the Clinton administration.

Brady, once he had established his credibility with Sunoco, pledged his support to MacDonald. "I told him, 'I will be your champion,' " Brady said. " 'I will set all these things up, connect you to the major players, if you are committed to doing this.' " The Hail Mary marriage of Sunoco and Carlyle Group owes much of its success to the unusual cooperation among the Democratic White House, Republican Gov. Corbett, Democrat Mayor Nutter, and Brady, one of the most liberal members of Congress. They were joined by Sunoco, Carlyle and the United Steelworkers, which represents refinery workers.

By Philly.com