Valero Energy Corp, San Antonio's largest corporation and the 37th largest in the country, reported today that stronger demand and a strong supply of crude oil for its refineries allowed it to best analyst's expectations in the second quarter, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Valero's earnings were down 37% from the second quarter of 2016, due largely to capital investments, and an aggressive stock buyback program.
Joe Gorder says its refineries were humming 24/7 in the quarter, with a 96% utilization rate, which boosted Valero's bottom line.
Valero is the largest independent refinery in the United States, and has emerged as a major oil retailer.
Gorder was asked about the U.K.'s goal, announced this week, of outlawing the sale of internal combustion powered cars by 2040, a move which would drastically cut into Valero's customer base.
He said long term planning is always underway, but this eventuality is not seen as realistic.
"Every analyst that we read believes that we will see continued demand for gasoline and Diesel fuel into the extended future," he said.
But Senior Vice President Gary Simmons says one move that could hurt both Valero and it's customers would be U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, which have been discussed to pressure the Maduro regime, which is currently facing pro democracy demonstrations.
"If sanctions were imposed, those barrels would continue to flow, they would just flow to other markets," he said. "Then we would have to buy the crude from other places, which would cause the costs to go up some."