Options 'exhausted,' Valero shuts refinery
The battered U.S. refining industry lost another victim yesterday as Valero Energy Corp. announced it is permanently shuttering its high-cost Delaware refinery, as the sector continues to struggle with weak demand and overcapacity. San Antonio, Tex.-based Valero is North America's largest refiner, processing about three million barrels of oil per day. Because it does not produce its own crude, it is squeezed by rising oil prices and weak demand for gasoline and other petroleum products. The company said yesterday that it had searched for a buyer for the 190,000-barrel-per-day complex in Delaware City, which typically processes heavy crude oil imported from the Middle East and Africa. "We have sought a buyer for the refinery, but feasible opportunities have not materialized," company chairman Bill Klesse said. "At this point, we have exhausted all viable options." The company said the plant was losing $1-million (U.S.) a day; its closure will throw about 550 employees out of work. VLO (NYSE) gained 11 cents to $16.47.
TODAY
The economy
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IT'S A BIG DAY FOR ...
... Sergio Marchionne