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In pursuit of excellence
North American refiner Valero aims to move from third to first quartile by standardising operations and closing performance gaps.
Valero has come a long way since it was established 30 years ago as a natural gas pipeline company. With a refining output of 2.8 million barrels a day, the company, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, USA, is now North America’s largest independent refining company. It acquired its 15 refineries in the USA, Canada and the Caribbean from oil majors and independents such as Mobil, Exxon and Premcor.
Having concentrated in the early days on building the business, Valero is now turning its attention to its operating performance. It is currently in the third quartile of the Solomon benchmarking indices on average.
The company has embarked on a drive to improve performance with the ambitious aim of moving from third to first quartile. Travis Capps, Valero’s Vice President Energy and Gases, explains the company’s strategy and the background to its plans.