Basis of Presentation
General
As used in this report, the terms “Valero,” “we,” “us,” or “our” may refer to Valero Energy Corporation, one or more of its consolidated subsidiaries, or all of them taken as a whole. We are an independent petroleum refining and marketing company and own 16 refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.1 million barrels per day as of December 31, 2013. We market branded and unbranded refined products on a wholesale basis in the United States (U.S.), Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom (U.K.), and Ireland through an extensive bulk and rack marketing network and through approximately 7,400 outlets that carry the Valero®, Shamrock®, Ultramar®, Beacon®, and Texaco® brand names. We also own 10 ethanol plants in the U.S. that primarily produce ethanol with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year as of December 31, 2013. Our operations are affected by:
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• | company-specific factors, primarily refinery utilization rates and refinery maintenance turnarounds; |
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• | seasonal factors, such as the demand for refined products during the summer driving season and heating oil during the winter season; and |
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• | industry factors, such as movements in and the level of crude oil prices including the effect of quality differentials between grades of crude oil, the demand for and prices of refined products, industry supply capacity, and competitor refinery maintenance turnarounds. |
We have evaluated subsequent events that occurred after December 31, 2013 through the filing of this Form 10-K. Any material subsequent events that occurred during this time have been properly recognized or disclosed in these financial statements.
