Valero Energy
Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
$730M
Disclosed Deal Value
Valero's largest disclosed acquisition here is Pembroke Refinery for $730M in 2011. This page covers 3 major deals from 2001 to 2011, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultramar Diamond Shamrock | 2001 | Undisclosed | Expand the refining system and add retail fuel brands. |
| Premcor Inc. | 2005 | Undisclosed | Add complex refining capacity. |
| Pembroke Refinery | 2011 | $730.0M | Valero bought the Pembroke refinery in Wales and related marketing assets from Chevron in 2011. |
2011
$730M
Valero bought the Pembroke refinery in Wales and related marketing assets from Chevron in 2011.
It was Valero's first refinery in Europe.
Completed in August 2011 for about $730 million before working capital.
2005
Add complex refining capacity.
Added refineries including Port Arthur, Texas.
Made Valero the largest refiner in North America at the time.
2001
Expand the refining system and add retail fuel brands.
Added refineries and the Ultramar and Diamond Shamrock brands.
Turned Valero into one of the largest U.S. refiners.
Valero spends most of its capital on sustaining existing plants: in Q2 2026, $290 million of $350 million in capital investments went to turnarounds, catalysts and regulatory compliance. Growth spending targets high-return refinery projects such as the St. Charles FCC optimization, plus low-carbon fuels through Diamond Green Diesel, which has capacity for up to 1.2 billion gallons a year of renewable diesel and up to 235 million gallons of SAF. Management returns a large share of operating cash flow to shareholders through dividends and buybacks; the Q2 2026 payout ratio was 59%. The company has also cut assets it judged uneconomic, idling the Benicia refinery in 2026.
Valero is a margin business. Its results depend on the gap between the cost of crude oil and other feedstocks and the selling price of refined products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemical feedstocks. Before Benicia was idled, the 15 refineries had about 3.2 million barrels per day of combined throughput capacity, and throughput averaged 3.0 million barrels per day in Q2 2026. Diamond Green Diesel turns waste fats and oils into renewable diesel and SAF, and the Ethanol segment sells ethanol and distillers grains from 12 plants.
In September 2005, Valero acquired Premcor Inc. for $8 billion in cash and stock, adding four high-complexity refineries in Port Arthur, Memphis, Lima, and Delaware City to become North America's largest refiner.
The acquisition of UDS doubled Valero's throughput capacity to nearly 2.0 million barrels per day, adding six refineries (including McKee, Three Rivers, and Quebec) and establishing significant retail and wholesale distribution.
Valero bought Basis Petroleum (formerly Phibro Refining) for $485 million in 1997, acquiring refineries in Texas City and Houston that marked Valero's decisive entry into oil refining.
In 2000, to fulfill antitrust consent decrees from the Exxon-Mobil mega-merger, Valero acquired the Benicia refinery in California and the Paulsboro refinery in New Jersey, establishing coast-to-coast operations.
Valero purchased the 270,000 barrel-per-day Pembroke refinery in Wales from Chevron for $730 million in 2011, establishing a major refining foothold in Western Europe with extensive logistics terminals.
In 2009, following the bankruptcy of biofuel producer VeraSun Energy, Valero purchased seven modern dry-mill ethanol plants for $477 million (a fraction of construction cost), later adding five more facilities.
Valero and Darling Ingredients completed the $1.45 billion DGD 3 expansion at Port Arthur, Texas, expanding total renewable diesel capacity to 1.2 billion gallons per year and adding 235 million gallons of SAF.
Valero spun off CST Brands (its retail network of over 1,000 convenience stores) in an IPO to streamline corporate focus on refining and return capital to shareholders.
Facing poor East Coast refining margins and high foreign crude import costs, Valero sold Paulsboro to PBF Energy for $360 million and closed Delaware City (later acquired by PBF), optimizing its geographic footprint.
Valero specializes in acquiring underperforming, complex coastal refineries at deep discounts to replacement value, subsequently deploying industrial engineering expertise to improve reliability and margins.
During the UDS acquisition, the FTC required Valero to divest Northern California terminals and retail stations to prevent undue regional market concentration.
Valero avoids major dilutive corporate acquisitions, focusing capital on brownfield refinery debottlenecking (such as the St. Charles FCC upgrade), low-carbon SAF expansion, and systematic share repurchases.
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