Valero plans refineries to run up to 89% of combined capacity in Q2 2021
Valero Energy Corp, the second largest U.S. crude oil refiner, plans to operate its 14 refineries up to 89% of their combined total throughput capacity of 3.15 million barrels per day (bpd) during the second quarter of 2021, a company executive said.
Valero’s U.S. Gulf Coast refineries are planned to operate up 92% of their combined total throughput of 1.86 million bpd, said Homer Bhullar, vice president of investor relations, during a Thursday conference call to discuss first quarter earnings with Wall Street analysts.
The company’s Mid-Continent refineries in Tennessee and Oklahoma were forecast to produce up to 93% of their combined total capacity of 485,000 bpd while refineries in Quebec and Wales supplying North Atlantic markets will run up to 71% of their 505,000-bpd capacity, Bhullar said.
Valero plans for its two West Coast refineries to operate at 89% of their capacity of 305,000 bpd, he said.
The company’s refineries in the U.S. Mid-West and Gulf Coast sustained “no significant mechanical damage” from the winter storm that started on Feb. 14, said Chief Executive Joe Gorder.
“Although our refineries and plants in those regions were also impacted, they did not suffer any significant mechanical damage and were restarted within a short period after the storm,” Gorder said.
The company plans no further asset sales after completing a deal on Monday to sell a partial interest in a Pasadena, Texas, petroleum terminal, he said.
Valero’s production is approaching levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic cut motor fuel demand, said Lane Riggs, chief operating officer.
“We’re running in utilization rates that were more indicative of pre-COVID levels, but they’re not completely -- we’re not completely running at max because we are still being very careful with our supply chain,” Riggs said.
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