US Senator seeks hearing on Northeast refineries

* Penn senator wants senate scrutiny on closings

* Refinery closures to impact prices of gasoline, heating oil

By Janet McGurty

NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Penn.) asked on Friday for a Senate hearing to look at the impact closing three Philadelphia area refineries will have on his constituents there as well as prices for gasoline and diesel for the Northeastern United States.

On Friday, Casey along with U.S. Representative Pat Meehan (R-Penn.) and Pennsylvania state Representative Thaddeus Kirkland met with United Steel Workers union presidents from the three refineries.

In a letter to Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Casey said he was concerned not only for 6,000 jobs lost at southeastern Pennsylvania refineries but possibility of price spikes for gasoline and particularly heating oil up and down the Northeastern United States.

"If no buyer is found and these facilities were to permanently close, the loss of our refining capacity on the east coast will have a substantial ripple effect across the Nation's economy," said Casey.

Casey cited an earlier study done in December by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy. That study said that reduction in refining caused by the potential shuttering of the Philadelphia, Marcus Hook and Trainer facilities is likely to impact supplies of petroleum products and to create price volatility.

Jim Savage, president of United Steelworkers Union for the Philadelphia refinery, said the refinery leaders had asked the legislators to step in and show some leadership, after pleas to some other local legislators went unanswered.

"A lot of people thought this was end of the process. There is still a lot of fighting left," he said.

The refineries, which comprise mre than 50 percent of the total refining capacity in the Northeast, are within a 12-mile radius of each other in southern Pennsylvania.

ConocoPhillips shut down its 185,000 bpd refinery in Trainer in late September but says it is seeking a buyer for the plant. A decision as to the disposition of the plant will be made by March 31, 2012, the company has said.

At a Jan. 5 meeting, union officials said then-plant manager David Erfert told them that the refinery would be razed if no buyer was found by the end of March..

Sunoco owns the 335,000 barrel per day Philadelphia refinery. While still operating, it is scheduled to close at the end of June if no buyer is found. Sunoco also owns the 178,000 bpd refinery in Marcus Hook, which was idled late last year.

During a recent earnings conference call, Sunoco said that Marcus Hook will not be restarted as a refinery. .

Sources speculate that the location of that refinery with its massive underground storage caverns and dock access to the Delaware River, will become part of the portfolio of Sunoco Logistic, a terminalling and pipeline company in which Sunoco holds a stake.

During the earnings call, Sunoco said there was a potential buyer for the Philadelphia refinery but did not provide further details. (Reporting By Janet McGurty; Editing by David Gregorio)