History
Valero was created on January 1, 1980, as a spinoff of Coastal States Gas Corporation. At the time, it was the largest corporate spinoff 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, which today is better known worldwide as The Alamo.
Valero acquired a small oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1981, and began refining operations in 1984.
In 1997, Valero spun off its refinery 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, the firm acquired Basis Petroleum, which left it with four refineries in Texas and Louisiana. In 1998, it then acquired a Paulsboro, New Jersey, refinery, the company's first outside of the Gulf Coast area.
In 2000, Valero purchased ExxonMobil's 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 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. The merger left Valero with over 4,700 Ultramar, Diamond Shamrock, and Beacon retail sites in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. With this acquisition, Valero also received ownership of Shamrock Logistics L.P., which was renamed Valero L.P. In 2006, the division was spun off as NuStar Energy. Starting in 2002, Valero has expanded its marketing to the East Coast, specifically the Northeast and Florida, using the Valero brand. The acquisition also includes all past Diamond Shamrock assets, including the former Sigmor Petroleum assets founded by Thomas E. Turner, founder of TETCO Inc. (the Sigmor brand name was the initials of Sigfried Moore, Turner's former employer) which merged with Shamrock Oil and Gas in 1960 forming Sigmor Shamrock - which was merged into Diamond Shamrock in 1982. Turner later repurchased Mission Petroleum Carriers when it was acquired by Diamond Shamrock which was the foundation of TETCO. and the business portfolio of the former National Convenience Stores, which was acquired by Diamond Shamrock in November 1995.
On April 25, 2005, Valero agreed to buy Premcor, Inc., for $8 billion in cash and stock to become the largest U.S. refinery, as record prices for gasoline and other fuel boosted profits. On June 30, 2005, Valero announced that it was beginning a two-year process of converting Diamond Shamrock stations to the Valero brand. In the next year, on May 5, 2008, Valero 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 was reported the refinery had lost $1 million 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 in cash, not including working capital that will be determined at closing. Current estimates on the value of the 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 fuel business, about 1,000 retail outlets, inventory and other items.
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