Valero Energy Starts Operations in the State of Mexico

In June 2022, the US-based company Valero Energy started operations at its sixth storage terminal in Temascalapa, the State of Mexico. State Governor Alfredo del Mazo said the project is the outcome of a US$175 million investment.

As the operator of the second-biggest oil refinery in the US, Valero is mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of fuels and petrochemical products, as well as the generation of electric power through its subsidiaries. Its assets include 15 oil refineries, 11 ethanol plants and have a total production of 3.1MMb/d. A 50MW wind power plant is another key asset for Valero. In the past, the company has suggested that is determined to consolidate itself as a benchmark oil and gas company in Mexico, even going as far as to say that an inevitable oil shortage of the domestic supply would require its intervention.

Upon the official inauguration of the terminal, called Valle de Mexico, del Mazo, revealed on social media that he had met with several other government officials and industry specialists to discuss the next steps for Valero’s finalized project. The governor was joined by Gerardo Hernández Vargas, Head of Government Affairs and Public Relations, Valero Mexico, Diego Naveda, Consultant, Valero, Mariana Castañeda, Public Affairs Consultant, Valero as well as members of the Ministry of Economic Development of the State of Mexico, including Enrique González Hernández, Managing Director of Industry and Julio César Guerrero Martín, Managing Director of Enterprise Services.

This storage terminal has the capacity to permanently supply oil products in the northern region of the Valley of Mexico, as well as provide for the additional demand generated by the newly inaugurated Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) nearby.

Valero’s expansion plans are not limited to the State of Mexico region. In 2021, the company inaugurated a storage terminal in the state of Aguascalientes, alongside partner company Grupo Alpez. Juan Jorge Álvarez Pérez, Representative, Grupo Alpez, said that the company “endorses Valero’s commitment to becoming the greatest alliance in the West and Bajio regions while putting Aguascalientes at the center of this expanding joint-project”.

In May 2021, Valero reached a milestone for the oil supply industry in this country by having opened 80 gas stations in 10 states of this country, all in the states of Aguascalientes, Coahuila, the State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz. At the time, company managers emphasized that the company’s short-term goals were to reach a total capacity for storage of 6MMb/d.

In Sept. 2021, Carlos García, CEO, Valero, said that it was in the company’s interest to consolidate its position as a strong competitor in the oil supply industry. García was sure that in the near future, domestic oil production would not satisfy the growing needs of this country’s population. “At some point, it will be necessary to import more oil to the Mexican market,” he said.