Valero Energy


Valero Energy Corporation is an American-based fuels producer mostly involved in manufacturing and marketing transportation fuels and other related products. It is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the company owns and operates 15 refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, two renewable diesel plants that produce approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year, and 12 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.6 billion gallons as its subsidiaries.
According to a number of estimates, Valero has become a major producer of corn ethanol and renewable diesel.

History

Valero was established on January 1, 1980, as a spinoff of Coastal States Gas Corporation's Subsidiary, LoVaca Gathering Company. The company took over the natural gas operations of the LoVaca Gathering Company, later renamed the Valero Transmission Company. In the 1970s, the Coastal company faced litigation due to its inability to honor contracts to supply utilities around Texas due to a natural gas shortage. After six years, Coastal agreed to a $1.6 billion settlement, which included the establishment of Valero as a new company.
The name Valero comes from Mission San Antonio de Valero, the original name of the mission in the Alamo. The company acquired Corpus Christi Marine Services Company, a small barge company in Corpus Christi, Texas, in April 1981 when it purchased a stake in Saber Energy Inc. of Houston. In May 1985, Valero Refining and Marketing Company was born from Valero's subsidiary, Saber Energy Inc.
In 1997, Valero merged its natural gas service business with Pacific Gas and Electric Company and spun off its refining assets to form Valero Energy Corporation. At the same time, the remaining divisions, which consisted of natural gas operations, merged with a wholly owned subsidiary of PG&E. In May of that year, Valero Energy acquired three refineries from Bassis Petroleum. The following year, the company expanded its operations by purchasing the Paulsboro Refinery in New Jersey from Mobil, making it the second-largest independent refiner in the U.S.
In 2000, Valero purchased the Benicia, California, refinery and interest 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, Valero acquired two asphalt plants on the West Coast.
In 2001, Valero completed its acquisition of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock. With this acquisition, the company also received ownership of Shamrock Logistics L.P., which was renamed Valero L.P. In 2006, Valero L.P. was spun off and renamed NuStar Energy. Starting in 2002, Valero has expanded its marketing to the East Coast, specifically the Northeast and Florida, using the Valero brand.
By 2003, Valero completed its acquisition of El Paso Corp's refinery, pipeline system and terminal assets in Corpus Christi and South Texas. On April 25, 2005, the company purchased Premcor, Inc., for $8 billion. In June 2005, Valero announced that it was beginning a two-year process of converting Diamond Shamrock stations to the Valero brand. And in 2008, the company bought 72 Albertsons gas stations.
In 2009, it was reported that Valero lost an average $1 million per day since the beginning of the year. In November of that year, the company was forced to lay off 500 employees, and subsequently began to permanently shut down its refinery in Delaware City, Delaware.
In 2009, Valero Energy Corporation entered the ethanol market by acquiring 7 ethanol plants in March, and another 3 ethanol plants, purchased in December, all located in the Midwest of the United States.
In 2011, Valero Energy Corporation entered into a joint venture with a subsidiary of Darling Ingredients Inc. to establish Diamond Green Diesel Holdings. This venture resulted in the construction of a renewable diesel plant adjacent to Valero's refinery in St. Charles, Louisiana.
On March 11, 2011, Valero announced that it had agreed to a major European purchase from Chevron Corporation, Chevron's Pembroke Refinery in Wales together with marketing and logistical assets throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, which include 4 pipelines, 11 terminals, an aviation fuel business, about 1,000 retail outlets, inventory and other items.
In 2013, Valero spun off its retail operations into a new publicly traded company, CST Brands. Under long-term supply agreements, Valero continues to supply fuel to more than 7,000 retail locations, many of which use brand names owned by Valero. That same year, the company started renewable diesel production at the DGD joint venture plant next to Valero’s St. Charles refinery in Louisiana.
A change to the logo, store canopy and facade was announced in April 2018. Known as "Vanguard", with various hues of blue, white, and yellow, Valero explained that applying the new design to all its stores would take several months to complete.
In 2021, DGD began expansion of the DGD St. Charles plant in 2019 and increased its renewable diesel capacity. In 2022, the second DGD plant, located next to Valero’s refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, began its operations.
At the beginning of 2026 it was announced that Valero would idle its Benecia, California refinery, but would continue supplying Northern California with gasoline through imports and existing inventories.

Operations

Valero's operations are managed through three main segments: refining, renewable diesel, and ethanol.

Refining

This segment includes the operations of Valero's 15 petroleum refineries. The segment also encompasses the marketing of refined petroleum products and the logistics assets supporting these operations.

Renewable Diesel

Valero operates this segment through Diamond Green Diesel, which has two plants in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. These plants have a combined annual production capacity of about 1.2 billion gallons of renewable diesel and 50 million gallons of renewable naphtha.

Ethanol

Valero's ethanol segment includes 12 plants combined production capacity of around 4.1 million gallons per day or approximately 1.6 billion gallons annually.

Sustainable Jet Fuel

In January 2023, Valero and Darling Ingredients Inc. announced an investment decision on a Sustainable Aviation Fuel project at the Diamond Green Diesel Port Arthur plant. Valero announced the project was completed in October, 2024, bringing online a capacity of 235 million gallons a year of sustainable jet fuel, or SAF. The fuel consists of 50% synthetic paraffinic kerosene and can be blended with 50% conventional jet fuel. It is calculated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 74% to 84% compared to standard jet fuels.
Southwest Airlines signed a two-year agreement with Valero in October 2024, to begin using the sustainable jet fuel at Chicago’s Midway International Airport in a deal noted by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who enacted a SAF tax credit in 2023. JetBlue also started using Valero’s SAF at John F. Kennedy International Airport in March 2024. It was the first long-term use of sustainable jet fuel in the Northeastern US.

Finances

For the fiscal year 2017, Valero Energy reported earnings of US$4.065 billion, with an annual revenue of US$93.980 billion, an increase of 24.2% over the previous fiscal cycle. Valero Energy's shares traded at over $67 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$39.2 billion in November 2018. Valero is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue as of 2018.
For 2023, the company reported earnings of US$9.149 billion, with an annual revenue of US$144.766 billion. Valero Energy's shares traded at $130 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$44 billion. Valero is ranked No. 40 on the Fortune 500 rankings of United States corporations by total revenue as of 2022.
YearRevenue
in mil. USD$		Net income
in mil. USD$		Total Assets
in mil. USD$		Price per Share
in USD$		Employees
200580,6163,57732,79847.1722,068
200687,6405,46137,75346.7621,836
200789,9875,23442,72264.0121,651
2008106,676−1,13134,41719.7821,765
200964,599−1,98235,57215.3120,920
201082,23332437,62121.1320,313
2011125,9872,09042,78319.2421,942
2012138,3932,08344,47731.1921,671
2013138,0742,72047,26050.4010,007
2014130,8443,63045,55049.5010,065
201587,8043,99044,22770.7110,103
201675,6592,28946,17368.329,996
201793,9804,06550,15891.9110,015
2018117,0333,12250,13574.9710,261
2019108,3242,42253,86493.6510,222
202064,912-1,42151,77456.579,964
2021113,97793057,88875.119,813
2022176,38311,52860,982126.869,743
2023144,7668,83563,056130.009,908