Founded in 1980 and named for the mission San Antonio de Valero – the original name of the Alamo – Valero Energy Corporation has continued to grow and evolve to become the largest global independent petroleum refiner and a leading producer of renewable fuels in North America.
1980
On January 1, Valero Energy Corporation is born as the corporate successor of Lo-Vaca Gathering Company, a natural gas pipeline subsidiary of Houston-based Coastal Corporation. At the time, this represents the largest corporate spinoff in U.S. history.
1984
Valero officially commissions its first full-scale refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas (later named the Corpus Christi Refineries West Plant). As the last grassroots refinery built in the U.S., Valero’s Corpus Christi investment is labeled the “Refinery of the Future.” To this day, it is one of the most complex, technologically advanced refineries in the world.
1997 - 1998
Valero agrees to merge its natural gas-related service business with PG&E Corporation and spin off its refining assets into a new public corporation still known today as Valero Energy Corporation. That same year, Valero acquires three new refineries from Basis Petroleum, two in Texas (Houston and Texas City) and one in Louisiana (Krotz Springs*), becoming the largest independent refining company on the Gulf Coast. *Divested in 2008
Valero becomes the second-largest independent refining company in the U.S with its purchase of Paulsboro Refinery* in New Jersey, its first transaction with a major oil company (Mobil). *Divested in 2010
2000
Valero purchases Exxon’s Benicia Refinery in Northern California, and enters the West Coast refining market. The deal elevates Valero to one of the top five asphalt producers in the nation, and marks the company’s entry into the retail*, branded wholesale and marketing sectors. *Retail business divested in 2013
2001
Valero completes its largest transaction to date: merging with San Antonio-based Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, bringing six more refineries into Valero’s portfolio: Ardmore, Oklahoma; Wilmington, California; Denver, Colorado*; McKee (Sunray, Texas) and Three Rivers, Texas; and Lévis, Quebec (later named Jean Gaulin Refinery).
This solidifies Valero’s foothold as one of the nation’s top refining and marketing companies, and expands its retail and branded wholesale networks to approximately 4,700 sites. The deal also gives Valero a stake in a midstream logistics business, later named Valero LP, which was spun off in 2006 and renamed NuStar Energy LP.
That same year, Valero expands in Corpus Christi with the purchase of a second refinery (later named the Corpus Christi Refineries East Plant), and acquires two asphalt refineries on the West Coast. *Divested in 2005
2003 - 2004
Valero purchases its St. Charles Refinery from Orion Refining Corporation in South Louisiana, expanding Valero’s Gulf Coast reach and creating one of the most dramatic industrial turnarounds in company history.
Valero extends its international reach with the acquisition of El Paso Corporation’s Aruba Refinery* plus related marine, bunkering and marketing operations. *Divested in 2016
2005
In a milestone year of growth, Valero becomes North America’s largest and most geographically diverse refiner with the acquisition of Premcor Inc. in an $8 billion transaction. The deal adds four refineries to the portfolio: Port Arthur, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Delaware City, Delaware*; and Lima, Ohio** and is regarded as one of the most strategic acquisitions in company history. *Divested in 2010 **Divested in 2007
2009 -2010
Valero purchases seven ethanol plants from VeraSun Energy Corporation. With this purchase, a new alternative energy subsidiary is formed, called Valero Renewable Fuels Company LLC. The ethanol plants are located in Albert City, Charles City, Fort Dodge and Hartley, Iowa; Welcome, Minnesota; Aurora, South Dakota; and Albion, Nebraska. Valero also completes 33 wind turbines in the Texas Panhandle, partly powering the McKee refinery.
Valero Renewables grows to 10 ethanol plants with the purchase of three more sites (Bloomingburg, Ohio; Linden, Indiana; and Jefferson*, Wisconsin), and one additional site in Mount Vernon, Indiana in 2014. *Divested in 2022
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2011
Valero enters the Western European refining market with the purchase of the Pembroke Refinery in Wales and related logistics assets and marketing business in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The acquisition from Chevron Corporation significantly enhances the company’s ability to compete globally.
Valero also acquires its 15th refinery, plus related logistics assets, in Meraux, Louisiana. The refinery offers significant hydroprocessing capacity and synergies with the company’s St. Charles refinery in nearby Norco, Louisiana.
2012
In a joint venture called Diamond Green Diesel, Valero partners with Darling Ingredients Inc. to build a 10,000-barrel-per-day renewable diesel refinery near its St. Charles refinery to process recycled animal fat, used cooking oil and other feedstocks into renewable diesel fuel. The effort marks Valero’s first advanced biofuels production, complementing its existing alternative energy efforts in ethanol and wind.
2013-2014
Valero forms Valero Energy Partners LP*, a publicly traded master limited partnership, to own, operate, develop and acquire crude oil and refined products pipelines, terminals and other transportation and logistics assets serving Valero refineries. The partnership serves as Valero’s primary vehicle to expand the transportation and logistics assets supporting its business.
Valero also spins off its retail business as an independent public company. CST Brands Inc. enters the market as the second-largest publicly traded fuel and convenience merchandise retailer in North America.
Valero started producing renewable diesel at the DGD joint venture plant next to its St. Charles refinery in Louisiana and expanded in 2018.
In 2014, Valero purchases an additional ethanol plant in Mount Vernon, Indiana.
*In 2018, Valero Energy Partners merged with Valero
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2018
Valero expands its reach into Latin America by purchasing Pure Biofuels Del Peru, its first infrastructure investment in South America. This includes refined product terminals in Callao, near Lima, and in Paita, in northern Peru.
Valero acquires ethanol plants from Green Plains (GPRE) in Bluffton, Indiana; Lakota, Iowa; and Riga, Michigan.
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2019
Valero renews its PGA TOUR title sponsorship of the Valero Texas Open through 2028. Three years later, the tournament celebrates its 100th anniversary. A record $22 million was raised for charities across the United States in 2022, creating an all-time tournament fundraising total of $209 million.
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2020
Valero expands its branded footprint in Mexico by opening its first gasoline station in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
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2021
In 2021, DGD St. Charles expanded and increased its renewable diesel production capacity to 700 million gallons annually.
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2022
A second renewable diesel plant commences operations next to Valero’s Port Arthur, Texas Refinery.
The two renewable diesel plants, located in Louisiana and Texas, produce approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year, making Valero one of the world's leading renewable diesel producers.
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2023-2024
Valero announces its investment in a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) project at the DGD Port Arthur renewable diesel plant. Project completed in October 2024, on schedule and under budget. It provides the plant the optionality to upgrade approx. 50% of its current 470 million gallon renewable diesel annual production capacity to SAF.
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Today
Today, Valero is the world's largest independent refiner and has 15 refineries in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., with a total throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day.
Since 2009, Valero has invested more than $5.4 billion in its low-carbon businesses. Today, Valero is the world's largest producer of low-carbon transportation fuels. The Diamond Green Diesel operations, adjacent to Valero's St. Charles and Port Arthur refineries, has an annual production capacity of 1.2 billion gallons of renewable diesel, some of which can be upgraded to SAF, and 50 million gallons of renewable naphtha.
Valero is the second largest corn ethanol producer with 12 ethanol plants and has an annual production capacity of 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol.
Valero sells its products primarily in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Latin America.
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