Sunoco announced on Tuesday that it was exiting the refining business, in its latest move to refocus the oil company on retail and logistics operations.

The company has been shifting its strategy over the last couple of years. It sold its chemicals group, and earlier this year spun off its metallurgical coal production business, SunCoke Energy, in an initial public offering.

Now, Sunoco plans to sell off its refineries, and the process is already under way for two facilities in Pennsylvania. If the assets are not sold, Sunoco said it would “idle the main processing units” in July 2012.

The company expects to incur an impairment charge of $1.9 billion to $2.2 billion as a result of these efforts. After the sale, Sunoco said it could record a $2 billion gain related to the liquidation of some inventories.

With a sale of its refineries, Sunoco will be mainly focused on retail sales and logistics. The company has 4,900 gas stations in 24 states.

“We have made progress in increasing the efficiency of our refineries over the last several years, but given the unacceptable financial performance of these assets, it is clear that it is in the best interests of shareholders to exit this business and focus on our profitable retail and logistics businesses which have higher returns, growth potential, and provide steady, ratable cash flow,” Lynn L. Elsenhans, Sunoco’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

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