Cheap crude and large product cracking units are inspiring some US independent refiners to invest in new distillation capacity despite falling domestic demand. Valero plans to add 160,000 b/d in crude distillation capacity at two refineries in Texas, but the expansion is not targeted to meet new domestic product demand. Valero agree with EIA expectations of falling domestic gasoline demand over the next 30 years. The firm has separated its retail arm and is a major US ethanol producer. It sees alternative fuels and a shift to diesel, more efficient engines and changing driver behaviour weighing on US gasoline demand. “We do not say domestic North American growth is a big part of our future,” chief executive Bill Klesse says.
展开▼
