Valero, the nation’s largest independent refiner, will pump $390 million into its Houston refinery and another $340 million into its Corpus Christi plant, equipping them to process more South Texas light sweet crude.
“We’re processing as much light sweet crude as we can at both of those facilities right now,” Day says. “Because our proximity to the Eagle Ford Shale, we’d like to be processing more.”
Valero plans to complete the upgrades by the end of 2015. It has already received approval from state environmental regulators to begin the work.
“The difference is several dollars per barrel,” Day says. “When you’re talking about the number of barrels per day we process, that adds up to real money.”
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