CORRECT: Sunoco CEO: Considering Other Biofuel Opportunities

Sunoco Inc. (SUN) is considering delving further into the biofuel business after purchasing an ethanol plant earlier this year, Chief Executive and President Lynn Elsenhans said Thursday.

The Philadelphia-based company would be interested in buying a plant near its other assets that could be upgraded to run more advanced biofuels than corn-based ethanol, Elsenhans said Thursday afternoon during a conference call with analysts.

In June, Sunoco completed the purchase of a 100 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant in upstate New York. Sunoco bought the facility, which has never been started, for $8.5 million and plans to invest up to $20 million to get it running.

The plant could provide 25% of the ethanol Sunoco needs to meet blending requirements.

Sunoco would eventually like to produce 50% of the ethanol it needs and purchase the rest, Elsenhans said Thursday.

"At the end of the day, we would not be looking to cover 100% of our blending needs," she said.

Sunoco's move into the ethanol business follows competitor Valero Energy Corp. (VLO).

Valero recently purchased several Midwestern ethanol plants and is now the second-largest producer of the corn-based fuel in the U.S.

-By Susan Daker, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9208; [e-mail]