Valero Energy Corporation
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Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) is a Fortune 500 international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products, and power based in San Antonio, Texas, United States.[1] The company owns and operates 14 refineries throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 2.6 million barrels per day, 10 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.1 billion gallons per year, and a 50-megawatt wind farm. Valero is also one of the US's largest retail operators with approximately 5,800 retail and branded wholesale outlets in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean under the Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar and Beacon brands.[2]
Contents
History
 | This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2010) |
Valero was created on January 1, 1980, as a spinoff from the Coastal States Gas Corporation. At the time, it was the largest corporate spin off in U.S. history. Valero took over the natural gas operations of the LoVaca Gathering Company, a defunct subsidiary of Coastal States Gas. The name Valero comes from Misión San Antonio de Valero, better known worldwide as The Alamo.
The company acquired a small oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1981, and began refining operations in 1984.
In 1997, Valero spun off its refining and retail divisions into a separate company, which kept the Valero name. At the same time, the remaining divisions, which consisted primarily of natural gas operations, were acquired by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Later that year, Valero acquired Basis Petroleum, which left it with four refineries in Texas and Louisiana. They then acquired a Paulsboro, New Jersey, refinery in 1998, the company's first refinery outside of the Gulf Coast area.
In 2000, Valero purchased ExxonMobil's Benicia, California, refinery and interests in 350 Exxon-branded service stations in California, mainly in the San Francisco Bay area. The company also began retailing gasoline under the Valero brand. In June 2001, the company acquired the Huntway Refining Company, along with two asphalt plants on the west coast.
On December 31, 2001, Valero completed its acquisition of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock. This merger left Valero with over 4,700 Ultramar, Diamond Shamrock, and Beacon retail sites in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. With this acquisition, Valero also received ownership of Shamrock Logistics L.P., which was renamed Valero L.P. In 2006, this division was spun off as NuStar Energy. Starting in 2002, Valero has been expanding its marketing to the East Coast, specifically the Northeast and Florida, using the Valero brand.
On April 25, 2005, Valero agreed to buy Premcor, Inc., for 8 billion in cash and stock to become the largest U.S. refiner, as record prices for gasoline and other fuels boost profits, and on June 30 announced it was beginning a two-year process of converting Diamond Shamrock stations to the Valero brand. The next year, on May 5, 2008, the company agreed to buy 72 Albertsons gas stations.
Valero laid off 500 employees at its refinery in Delaware City, Delaware on November 20, 2009, due to profitability concerns. It is reported that the refinery had lost $1,000,000 per day since the beginning of the year.
On March 11, 2011, Valero announced that it had agreed to a major European purchase from Chevron Corp. for $730 million cash, not including working capital that will be determined at closing. Current estimates on the value of working capital would place the total price at $1.73 billion. The acquisition includes Chevron's Pembroke Refinery in Wales — one of Europe's largest and most complex — together with marketing and logistical assets throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, which include 4 pipelines, 11 terminals, an aviation fuels business, about 1000 retail outlets, inventory and other items. [3] [4] [5]
Environmental record
The Political Economy Research Institute ranks Valero 28th among corporations emitting airborne pollutants in the United States. The ranking is based on the quantity (3.4 million pounds in 2005) and toxicity of the emissions.[6]
Valero was the biggest[7] financial backer of the 2010 California Proposition 23, contributing more than $4 million as of August 2010.[8] Proposition 23 would delay action on green house gas emissions in the state of California, by delaying current implementation of the California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 until the state has an unemployment rate of 5.5% for one full year.[9][10] Critics have argued that, because that has happened only three times over the last 40 years, the proposition would have the practical effect of repealing the law.[11][12]
Valero owns two oil refineries in California. The Benicia Refinery is located on the Carquinez Strait, a tributary of San Francisco Bay. [13] The Wilmington Refinery is located 23 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. [14] The top ten individual sources of California GHG emissions are either oil refineries or power plants. [15]
Contracts
According to Robert Bryce,[16] author and managing editor of Energy Tribune, Valero Energy Corp. has been awarded multiple multi-million dollar contracts by the U.S. Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) to provide fuel to Israel .
Valero Energy has reached an agreement to sell the assets of its terminal operation and discontinued operations in Delaware City to the wholly owned subsidiaries of PBF Energy – Delaware City Refining and Delaware Pipeline – for approximately $220m.[17]
Retail
Valero retails gasoline branded as Valero, Shamrock, Diamond Shamrock,[18] Ultramar, Beacon, and Total, the last under license from Total S.A.. While this arm of the company is the most visible to the public, it is, according to CEO William R. Klesse, "a very small part of [Valero's] operations".[19]
Valero is attempting to shift its focus from being a discount gasoline brand to becoming a premium brand. As part of that shift, Valero has begun to rebrand its Ultramar, Beacon, Total and Diamond Shamrock stations to the Valero brand. The Beacon and Shamrock brands are used by retailers as a low cost alternative to the premium Valero brand. The Shamrock brand is based on the former Shamrock Oil and Gas Company, which merged with Diamond Alkali in 1967 to form Diamond Shamrock. The name Ultramar, while being eliminated in the U.S., will still be used as Valero's brand name in Canada. Valero introduced its updated "Corner Store" retail concept on December 28, 2007, opening the company's first 5,500-square-foot (510 m2) prototype in western San Antonio.
Valero issues its own private label credit cards for its stations through its credit card-only subsidiary, DSRM National Bank. The initials stand for "Diamond Shamrock Refining & Marketing", the unit of Diamond Shamrock which created it before being purchased by Valero.[20]
See also
References
- ↑ "[1]." Valero. Retrieved on March 18, 2011.
- ↑ "[2] Valero Press Release." Valero. Retrieved on March 18, 2011.
- ↑ Polson, Jim (March 11, 2011). "Valero to Buy Chevron’s Pembroke Refinery for $1.73 Billion". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-11/chevron-to-sell-pembroke-refinery-to-valero.html.
- ↑ "Valero confirms purchase of Chevron's Pembroke refinery and other assets". Hydrocarbon Processing. March 11, 2011. http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/Article/2785598/Latest-News/Valero-confirms-purchase-of-Chevrons-Pembroke-refinery-and-other-assets.html.
- ↑ "Valero pays $1.73B for Chevron's Pembroke refinery". Press Associated Press. March 11, 2011. (Web link).
- ↑ (PERI) THE TOXIC 100: Top Corporate Air Polluters in the United State
- ↑ California Proposition 23, the Suspension of AB 32 (2010) - Ballotpedia
- ↑ Hiltzik, Michael (August 13, 2010). "Proposition 23 - Trying to shed light on a shadowy figure in Proposition 23 battle - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20100813,0,1163344.column.
- ↑ Hiltzik, Michael (July 27, 2010). "Proposition 23 - Oil industry is driving force behind Proposition 23's attack on California's new greenhouse gas regulation - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20100727,0,1359956.column.
- ↑ Roosevelt, Margot (September 10, 2010). "Global Warming - Fight over bid to suspend California's global warming law gets ugly - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prop-23-20100910,0,75571.story.
- ↑ Galpern, Dan (2010-07-28). "Vote NO on Proposition 23: The proposition on the November ballot would essentially repeal California's landmark climate-protection law". New Times. http://www.newtimesslo.com/commentary/4744/vote-no-on-proposition-23/. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ↑ Teresa Alvardo; Shellye Archambeau (2010-09-09). "Prop 23 is Bad for Business". Fox and Hounds. http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/teresa-alvardo-and-shellye-archambeau/7776-prop-23-bad-business. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ↑ Benicia
- ↑ Wilmington
- ↑ AB32’s Job Economics
- ↑ Gaza invasion: Powered by the U.S. - Robert Bryce - Salon.com
- ↑ Valero Energy To Sell Delaware City Assets For $220m
- ↑ DIAMOND SHAMROCK | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)
- ↑ Valero Energy CEO to Wall St.: You've got us wrong Soapbox - MarketWatch
- ↑ DSRM National Bank CRA Performance Evaluation (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, June 7, 2004)
External links
16x16px Media related to Valero Energy Corporation at Wikimedia Commons
- Valero website
- Velo Valero Cycling Team
- Robert Bryce article detailing DESC contract with Valero
- California Refineries California Air Resources Board, Emission Impacts of Refineries April 23, 2009
