Excellence Refined - 30 Years - Valero

January 2, 1980: Valero executives gather at the New York Stock Exchange on the day the company went public.
Energy for the 1980s
On January 2, 1980, more than 22 million shares held by
approximately 20,000 shareholders began trading on the
New York Stock Exchange. A ceremony welcomed Valero
to the Big Board; cameras flashed and executives shook
hands. But back home in Texas, hard feelings among
customers and communities remained, particularly in
San Antonio. Valero officials answered icy receptions
with only more determination, quickly immersing
themselves in civic projects and community boards.
Most importantly, they committed to proving five things
that Valero would do: give employees the opportunity to
have satisfying and rewarding careers; provide customers
with a stable supply of natural gas at competitive prices;
offer stockholders a competitive return; give producers a
strong and reliable market for their gas; and, be a valued
and contributing part of the community.
For Valero to achieve everything it promised, its portfolio
had to involve more than heavily regulated natural gas.
The company had to find a way to grow its non-regulated
business ventures in order to balance its income. The
answer: natural gas liquids. It was a risky decision –
chosen, studied and dissected before the company was
even created – but executives felt certain that natural gas
liquids (NGL) production was profitable and worthy of
investment. In its first year, Valero spent more than $100
million building natural gas processing plants and natural
gas liquids pipelines to move the NGL’s to market. It added
gas storage facilities, spent approximately $14 million to
expand NGL production capacity and spent $4 million to
launch its exploration and production operation. Valero
developed the largest intrastate pipeline system in Texas,
with approximately 7,500 miles of transmission lines and
assets worth approximately $700 million. It negotiated
the right to charge customers 10 cents per million cubic
feet (mmcf) over the cost of natural gas in the first year,
and 15 cents over cost in year two. In a year’s time, the
growth strategy had started to work. Valero had become
Texas’ largest intrastate pipeline operator and the
nation’s sixth-largest producer of natural gas liquids.
A Company Is Born
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