Valero 'Fills 'Er Up With Ethanol Profits

Valero (VLO-$16.36) is looking to improve margins by shifting its crude diet away from heavy sours to lighter “sweet” (lower sulfur content) grades of oil. Prior to the shuttering of doors at the 200,000 barrel-per-day heavy crude facility in Delaware City, Valero had idled about 20 percent of its total capacity of 2.8 million barrels of oil a day — with another 24 percent of refinery utilization down for maintenance.

Cost cutting will not be enough to shore up weak fundamentals. Though refineries coming online in China and Brazil are expected to serve domestic markets, capacity expansions in the Middle East and India are expected to cater to export markets, dampening any hoped for recovery in near-term refinery margins at Valero. Read More at BNET ENERGY….

Editor David J Phillips does not hold a financial interest in any stocks mentioned in this article. The 10Q Detective has a Full Disclosure Policy.