Valero Energy Corp

Valero, the fuel transporter controlled by refiner Valero Energy Corp., agreed to sell five oil products terminals and a pipeline system to gain approval from antitrust regulators for its $2-billion acquisition of Kaneb Services and Kaneb Pipe Line Partners. San Antonio-based Valero said it would sell to third parties Kaneb's refined products terminals in Paulsboro, N.J.; Philadelphia; Martinez, Calif.; and Richmond, Calif.

Some of the nation's biggest oil companies are looking at permanently reducing how much gasoline and diesel fuel they make, a move that analysts say would almost certainly trigger higher prices for drivers. Energy companies are suffering huge losses from refining because of slumping gasoline use -- a product of the economic downturn and changing consumer habits and preferences. Energy experts say refining cutbacks have begun and will accelerate as corporations strive for profits. Major refiners have been circumspect about their plans, saying that they are considering options that could include closing refineries, selling parts of their operations, laying off workers and slashing spending.

Valero Energy Corp., the nation's biggest oil refiner, reported that its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter, in large part because of increased output after last year's purchase of Premcor Inc. and higher gasoline prices because of hurricane damage to Gulf Coast refineries. The company reported net income of $1.35 billion, or $2.06 a share, versus $489 million, or 88 cents, a year earlier.

Chevron Corp., the nation's No. 2 oil company, said Friday that its fourth-quarter net income fell by more than a third compared with a year earlier. The decline was driven almost entirely by a huge reversal in the company's downstream segment, including its refineries, which swung from a fourth-quarter profit of more than $2 billion in 2008to a loss of more than $600 million in 2009. If not for the refining, marketing and transportation segment, Chevron would have posted a gain in net income of about $800 million compared with the same quarter in 2008.

Valero Energy Corp. more than doubled its second-quarter profit, benefiting from high pump prices and its expertise at turning lower-quality crude oil into gasoline and diesel. It was the best quarterly profit for San Antonio-based Valero, the nation's largest independent refiner, and executives said they expected even higher returns in the current quarter. Marathon Oil Corp. of Houston credited soaring fuel prices as a major factor in the doubling of its second-quarter profit.

* The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in California fell to $1.633 a gallon, down 2.5 cents from the week before, while the U.S. average rose 3.7 cents to $1.492 a gallon, the Energy Information Administration said. * Exxon Mobil Corp. of Irving, Texas, completed the sale of its oil refinery in Benicia, Calif., and a distribution chain of 260 dealer-operated Exxon gasoline stations in California to San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp.

Valero Energy Corp., which produces about 10% of California's gasoline, said it will buy Newhall-based Huntway Refining Co. for about $78 million to gain refineries in Benicia and Wilmington. Huntway stockholders will get $1.90 a share, the companies said. Huntway shares rose 13 cents to close at $1.83 on the New York Stock Exchange. San Antonio-based Valero will retire Huntway's outstanding debt and cash out outstanding options, the companies said, without giving details.

Valero Energy Corp. said it would take three or four days before its Wilmington refinery was back at full production after an outage that cut power to most of Los Angeles, including the plant. Although one coker unit was restored to service after Monday's outage, another remains shut and may start again in three or four days, Valero said. One crude-oil processing unit also resumed operation. A fluid catalytic cracker is expected to resume operation as well.

Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. refiner, said it was uncertain when it would be able to restart operations at its McKee refinery after the facility was damaged by an explosion and fire Friday. The blaze began after an explosion in a unit that processes residual oil. The most severe damage appeared to be limited to the unit and adjoining pipelines, a spokeswoman said.

The wholesale price of gasoline in California jumped after Valero Energy Corp. said a gasoline-making unit at its Wilmington refinery would be shut down for about two weeks. The rack price for regular gasoline, which is a wholesale price that does not include delivery charges, hit 93 cents a gallon in Los Angeles, up 6.25 cents from Tuesday's price, according to Bloomberg's daily gas price report. Retail pump prices usually reflect wholesale price increases within a few days.

Three gas stations vie for customers along Interstate 5 in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, but Cheryl Ahern-Lehmann usually bypasses the Chevron and Arco in favor of a station she once spurned as too pricey. That station in north San Diego County, a Texaco for years, won her business after it became a Valero in 2003. "It just appeared here . . . I didn't know what it was," Ahern-Lehmann said of the gasoline brand.

Southern California air-quality regulators are fining Valero Energy Corp. $5,000 a day because the San Antonio-based company delayed upgrades to its Wilmington refinery -- at the request of California energy officials. The fine is a minor monetary annoyance for Valero, amounting each day to about half a minute's worth of profit during the first quarter.

Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. and leading refiner Valero Energy Corp. cashed in on soaring gasoline prices during the first three months of the year -- an accomplishment that on Thursday produced upbeat profit reports as well as a new chorus of condemnation from consumer advocates and politicians. Exxon said its first-quarter profit jumped 10% to $9.3 billion, or $1.

Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. refiner, said it was uncertain when it would be able to restart operations at its McKee refinery after the facility was damaged by an explosion and fire Friday. The blaze began after an explosion in a unit that processes residual oil. The most severe damage appeared to be limited to the unit and adjoining pipelines, a spokeswoman said.

Valero Energy Corp. more than doubled its second-quarter profit, benefiting from high pump prices and its expertise at turning lower-quality crude oil into gasoline and diesel. It was the best quarterly profit for San Antonio-based Valero, the nation's largest independent refiner, and executives said they expected even higher returns in the current quarter. Marathon Oil Corp. of Houston credited soaring fuel prices as a major factor in the doubling of its second-quarter profit.

Two oil companies kicked off another round of record quarterly profit reports Tuesday as President Bush announced an investigation into possible price gouging and motorists fumed over how much money they were spending on gasoline. Westwood-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. said its first-quarter profit soared to $1.2 billion. That's a 45% increase from a year earlier and nearly three times the profit it reported in the 2004 first quarter. Earnings at San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp.

Valero Energy Corp., a top U.S. refining and marketing company, said the Federal Trade Commission requested more information on its proposed takeover of competitor Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp. Since the company originally filed documents with the FTC on May 31, it said, it has been in contact with antitrust regulators, who are expected by many to take a close look at the merged company's refining business in California.

Valero Energy Corp., the nation's biggest oil refiner, reported that its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter, in large part because of increased output after last year's purchase of Premcor Inc. and higher gasoline prices because of hurricane damage to Gulf Coast refineries. The company reported net income of $1.35 billion, or $2.06 a share, versus $489 million, or 88 cents, a year earlier.

Valero Energy Corp. said it would take three or four days before its Wilmington refinery was back at full production after an outage that cut power to most of Los Angeles, including the plant. Although one coker unit was restored to service after Monday's outage, another remains shut and may start again in three or four days, Valero said. One crude-oil processing unit also resumed operation. A fluid catalytic cracker is expected to resume operation as well.