SunCoke commits $280M for coke plant this year

By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer 10:45 AM Friday, February 5, 2010

MIDDLETOWN — Sunoco Inc., parent company of SunCoke Energy Inc., said it plans to invest up to $280 million this year for the construction of a new coke plant in Middletown, a plan that has been in the works for more than two years.

Included in its earnings report listing fourth quarter and full-year results, the company said it expects to have $840 million in capital spending this year. Of that, the company said $280 million has been earmarked for the Middletown Coke Company plant, which would be built off of Yankee Road in Middletown near Monroe’s border.

Since the project was announced nearly two years ago, the estimated $340 million coke oven facility has been caught up in various permitting issues and civil lawsuits. The plant would supply metallurgical coke, a vital steelmaking raw material, to AK Steel’s Middletown Works for at least the next 20 years and add about 500 temporary and 75 permanent jobs to the area if built.

SunCoke has been issued a draft New Source Review air permit by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. It is still under review by that agency. This is the second air permit the company has sought for the local plant.

Sunoco’s earnings were down 87 percent compared to the fourth quarter 2008, with the oil company reporting earnings of $26 million for the last quarter, compared to $204 million in the year-ago period.

Its coke business specifically had earnings of $78 million for the quarter and $180 million for 2009, according to the report. The company had released guidance that it expected $215 million in net income for 2009 from its coke division, but cited delays on the Middletown project and coal price changes as reasons for the setback.