Excellence Refined - 30 Years - Valero

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The centerpiece of the “Refinery of the Future” would be the Heavy Oil Cracker, cutting edge technology in the early 1980s. state-of-the-art operation was no small task, and an uncertain economy was no help. But Valero forged ahead with a 33-month, $535 million construction plan to build the “Refinery of the Future.” The plant’s new heavy oil cracker, with the ability to convert high-sulfur residual oil (resid) into premium products, would add an important element to Valero’s plan to diversify. As one Saber executive put it at the time: “Everything is mammoth in this refinery.” Valero set out to build a world-class plant that would be unique in two respects – the production of 100 percent unleaded gasoline, and the processing of resid rather than conventional sweet crude. By taking on the most difficult-to-process feedstock – which sold at a significant discount to light sweet crude – the company could achieve higher refining margins than a conventional refiner. At the time of construction, the refinery’s heavy oil cracker was one of only three such units in the world. Beyond its sparkling new assets, Valero’s first refinery also gained prominence for environmental excellence and energy efficiency – two priorities still at the heart of the company’s operation. Longtime Gulf Oil executive Martin Zanotti joined the Valero team to help free the refinery from management problems and operational snags. Zanotti ultimately was named Executive Vice President of Valero Refining and Marketing Company. Upon his retirement from Valero in 1995, Zanotti reminisced about the challenges for Valero in its early days. With the expertise of engineers such as John Hohnholt, who went on to serve as Vice President and General Manager of the Corpus Christi Refinery and a senior corporate executive before his death in 2004, the refinery was ahead of its time in technology. But few at the plant had the expertise to make the concept work. “We put the refinery on the right road. And that took a lot of effort on everybody’s part,” Zanotti said. “Valero turned out to be even more of an exciting challenge than I had expected.” With a state-of-the-art refinery as its flagship, Valero continued to field criticism for its faith in the industry. News articles and magazines portrayed a company drowning in debt, with no way to escape. “Even if Valero wanted to,” one article read, “it would have a difficult A Company Is Born 8
The original Saber refinery, near the site of Valero’s flagship refinery in Corpus Christi, started as nothing more than a vacuum unit and crude unit (inset). Today, the sprawling complex remains the last grassroots refinery in the United States.
Page 1 and 2: VALERO LINES EXCELLENCE REFINED INS
Page 3 and 4: Heartfelt Thanks to Our Employees W
Page 5 and 6: JULY 28, 1978: Reporters question B
Page 7: Longtime Valero refinery executive
Page 11 and 12: By the end of its first year, Valer
Page 13 and 14: shape financially and operationally
Page 15 and 16: outreach projects and enthusiasm. T
Page 17 and 18: Barely a month later, Valero became
Page 19 and 20: Crews make a historic sign change a
Page 21 and 22: From its early roots with Ultramar
Page 23 and 24: As a leading refiner and marketer,
Page 25 and 26: Valero closed the acquisition of fi
Page 27 and 28: AURORA WELCOME ALBERT CITY FORT DOD
Page 29 and 30: Valero San Antonio Volunteer Counci
Page 31 and 32: From the Valero Texas Open to the U
Page 33 and 34: these at-risk children do not make
Page 35 and 36: Katrina. And Port Arthur, which sec
Page 37 and 38: Leaders of several Valero refinerie
Page 39 and 40: 2004. The Ardmore Refinery followed
Page 41 and 42: In 2008, the Valero St. Charles ref
Page 43 and 44: Turbines turn in the glow of a Sunr
Page 45 and 46: Valero Family Album
Page 47 and 48: Amarillo crediT center Joined Valer
Page 49 and 50: Aruba Refinery Joined Valero in 200
Page 51 and 52: Bill Greehey Refinery Joined Valero
Page 53 and 54: Houston Refinery Joined Valero in 1
Page 55 and 56: McKee Refinery Joined Valero in 200
Page 57 and 58: Paulsboro Refinery Joined Valero in
Page 59 and 60:
St. Charles Refinery Joined Valero
Page 61 and 62:
Three Rivers Refinery Joined Valero
Page 63 and 64:
Valero Logistics Operations Valero
Page 65 and 66:
Valero Retail Joined Valero in 2000
Page 67 and 68:
O R A T I O N S a family of employe
Page 69 and 70:
Walter Isom RB Davis Terry Lavergne
Page 71 and 72:
Michael Pantaleone Johnny Mika Davi
show all

Excellence Refined - 30 Years - Valero

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?