Valero Energy said it had cut crude throughput at its refineries since late March and might delay several projects due to falling refined product demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The Texas-based company, however, did not provide detail on how much the reduction and which refineries were affected by the cuts.
The company also temporarily halts eight of its ethanol plants and lowers the amount of corn feedstock processed at six ethanol plants to deal with the declining ethanol demand, according to Valero’s filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
TO strengthen its financial, Valero has secured a new 364-day revolving credit agreement worth $875 million. It also decided to defer tax payments due this year and may delay several projects. The projects include:
A $975-million project for a 55,000 bpd delayed coker and sulfur recovery unit at its 335,000 bpd refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, scheduled for startup in 2022.A $400-million project to build a 17,000 bpd alkylation unit at the 215,000 bpd refinery in Norco, Louisiana, with the planned startup in Q4 2020.A $550-million expansion project to construct a second renewable diesel production train at the Valero-Darling Ingredients Inc, with expected commissioning in 2021.
