San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corporation announced early today that it would acquire refiner Premcor Inc. for $6.9 billion in cash and stock plus the assumption of about $1.8 billion of debt, which will the San Antonio company the largest refiner of crude oil in North America.
The deal — which is subject to regulatory approval in the already heavily consolidated refining industry — would give Valero total refining capacity of 3.3 million barrels a day, making Valero’s refining capacity more than that of Exxon Mobil Corp. in North America. The deal gives Premcor shareholders an initial premium of about 20% based on the recent 30-day trading range of Premcor’s stock price.
Valero has been on an refinery acquisition initiative for almost a decade. Beginning in 1997 when it owned only one refinery, Valero has made seven acquisitions and, if the Premcor deal is approved, will have 19 refineries. Valero already became the largest independent refiner in North America in 2001 when it bought Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp. for $4.03 billion plus the assumption of $2.1 billion in debt, and the 5,000 retail gasoline outlets involved in that acquisition gave Valero a large retail presence. The Premcor purchase would give Valero four additional U.S. refineries and bring its annual revenue to about $70 billion.
The deal highlights a startling turnaround that has occurred in the refining industry over the past several years. Since the big shakeout in the oil and gas industry that occurred in the mid-1980’s, the refining industry struggled for over a decade. Investment in new refineries slowed to a trickle for a combination of reasons, including overcapacity, inadequate return on investment, oppressive environmental regulations and local political opposition to new and more efficient facilities. As a result, most people do not realize that the last new plant to be built in the U.S. was in 1976, that the number of refineries in the U.S. has declined to 150 at present from 325 in 1981, or that refining capacity for crude oil has declined from about 18.5 million barrels a day to about 17 million barrels per day over the past five years.
Accordingly, while worldwide demand for gasoline has been rising dramatically over the past several years and refiners have struggled to keep pace with increasing demand, the refiners’ limited capacity and low inventories have resulted in substantially improved margins, which is the difference between the price that the refiners’ receive for their product and the price that they pay for crude oil.
Thus, when you hear complaints about high gasoline prices, recognize that the relatively high price of oil is only one component of the problem. Lack of refining capacity is at least as big a reason for the problem, and making it difficult to construct new refineries only ensures continued high gasoline prices.