Posted Weekend March 29 2014
Friday March 28 Faculty and Students visited Valero headquarters in San Antonio.VLO is just east of UTSA on tthe south side of North 1604. Thanks for TAMUSA student Marianna Otero for helping make this happen.
Our tour guide was Katharine Farmer. Katharine came to VLO from UTSA Career Services where she worled with one of our COB Advisors, Bruce Howard. That's Katharine on the left nand yours truly on the right.
The tour began with a video all about the company. VLO is the largest indpendent refiner in the USA. It also operates multiple ethanol plants as well as a wind farm in the Panhandle. VLO is a downstream operator. It does not produce oil and gas. Rather it begins with pipelines leading to its refineries. And it refines adn then markets fuels. It recently spun off its retail arm into a separate company CST for Convenience Store Retail.
The company has quite a nice cafeteria with both inside and otuside seating. Outside is a well manicured ground including a bubbling pool. Katharine indicated some employees have held their weddings there it is such a scenic spot. The company also provides a workout facility with all sort of exercise machines and weights. Jogging trails are outside.
Left to right Marianna Otero, David Ullom, James Hackard, Dennis Elam, Leonard Love, Beatrice Therwhanger, Gil Barrera, Floy Waggoner, Eric Watkins
VLO maintains a large trading room. The purpose is to hedge their cost of oil. A refiner does not necessarily make money whether oil is $12 or $100. Rather it is the catalytic cracking spread, the difference between the price of crude oil to be refined and the wholesale price of the refined product. No doubt it helps to be in the retail business where VLO captures the retail mark up on gas as well, oh at all 7,300 stations CST operates.
Floy Waggoner poses outside one of the three main buildings around VLO Circle.
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