Background
Regan Templeton of KUT News and Reporting Texas researched and reported this article.
Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical products, and power. Valero is based in San Antonio, Texas.
Valero owns and operates 15 refineries in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and the Caribbean. Valero also produces about 1.1 billion gallons per year and operates a 50-megawatt wind farm in the Texas Panhandle. Valero has an average of $82 billion in yearly sales.
Valero was created in 1980 as a spinoff of the Coastal States Gas Corporation, taking over natural gas operations. Valero bought its first oil refinery in Corpus Christi in 1981 and has expanded greatly since.
In 2001, Valero acquired Diamond Shamrock. The merger gave Valero just under 5,000 retail locations. The gas stations were eventually converted to be Valero stations. Valero is now one the largest gas retailers in the world, with approximately 6,800 outlets.
Valero has been criticized for its environmental record. In 2005, Valero was fined $5.5 million by the EPA for emissions violations. Valero has also been fined by California and New Jersey for violating state environmental regulations.
Valero also controversially contributed $4 million to back Proposition 23 in California in 2010, which would have delayed a crackdown on greenhouse gas emissions in the state. Valero owns two refineries in California. The proposition did not pass.
Valero has neither confirmed nor denied global warming, but the company has vowed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Valero is also investing in alternative energy, like ethanol and wind. Valero has invested in biofuel companies and diesel fuel produced from recycled animal fats and cooking oils.
