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Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO (http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=VLO)) is based in San Antonio, Texas and is one of the leading U.S. refining companies. The company owns and operates 15 refineries in Aruba, Canada, and on the East, West and Gulf Coasts of the United States. These account for about 12 percent of total U.S. refining capacity, with a maximum throughput of almost 2.5 million barrels (520,000 m³) per day.
Valero processes mostly lower quality oil, which is more difficult to refine but is less expensive. The company is one of few equipped to refine heavy, sour crude, which accounts for about 70 percent of its feedstocks. They also produce gasoline in accordance to stringent California Air Resources Board (CARB) specifications.
In 2000, Valero purchased ExxonMobil's Benicia, California refinery and interests in 340 Exxon-branded service stations in California, mainly in the San Francisco Bay area.
On December 31, 2001, Valero completed its acquisition of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock. This merger left Valero with over 4,700 retail sites in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. Valero sells gasoline branded as Valero, Shamrock, Diamond Shamrock, Ultramar, Beacon, and Total. Valero is gradually shifting 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, and Total stations to either the Valero or Diamond Shamrock brands (Valero is the brand name used along the Pacific Coast, and Diamond Shamrock is the brand name used in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions). The Shamrock brand is used by retailers as a low coast alternative to the two premium brands. The name Ultramar, while being eliminated in the U.S., will still be used as Valero's brand name in Canada.
Starting in 2002, Valero has expanded its marketing to the East Coast (specifically the Northeast and Florida), using the Valero brand.
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