SAN ANTONIO, March 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Valero
Renewable Fuels Company, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Valero
Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO), announced today that it has
purchased a corn ethanol plant in Mount
Vernon, Ind. from Aventine Renewable Energy-Mt. Vernon, LLC,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings,
Inc. The plant has an annual production capacity of 110 million
gallons and uses Delta-T technology, similar to the process already
in use at Valero Renewables' ethanol plant in Jefferson, Wis.
The Mount Vernon plant is the
11th corn ethanol plant in Valero Renewables' system and
its second in Indiana. The
addition will give Valero more than 1.3 billion gallons per year in
ethanol production. The plant has been shut down for approximately
two years, but Valero Renewables plans to begin a restart program
and resume production within the next several months.
"We're looking forward to hiring employees, restarting the plant
and producing ethanol," said Martin
Parrish, Valero's Vice President-Alternative Energy and
Development. "We intend to invest in the Mount Vernon plant to make it competitive with
other top-tier ethanol facilities, and we will use the technical
expertise we have gained at our other plants to look at ways to
improve Mount Vernon's
reliability, production rate and product yields."
Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc., CEO and President
Mark Beemer states: "Aventine's
strategic divestiture of the Mount
Vernon plant is an important step in revitalizing and
refocusing our portfolio of ethanol assets at our Pekin, Illinois and Aurora, Nebraska facilities, while also
strengthening our balance sheet. Our team is
successfully delivering on our aggressive turnaround strategy
and is redefining Aventine as a top-tier ethanol producer."
The Mount Vernon plant's
logistical advantages include ready access to corn suppliers as
well as strong rail, truck and barge transportation. The plant is
at the Port of Indiana-Mount
Vernon on a location leased from Ports of Indiana, the state port authority. That
relationship will continue.
"This purchase diversifies Valero Renewables' portfolio of
assets and access to markets, and it will be positive for the
Mount Vernon area as well," said
Gene Edwards, who has overseen
Valero's ethanol plant acquisitions. "We look forward to a strong
working relationship with Ports of Indiana, and as the other communities where we
have ethanol plants have discovered, Valero is a great corporate
citizen."
Ports of Indiana CEO Rich Cooper
lauded the transaction, noting that it is Valero Renewables' first
facility located at a major port on the inland waterway system.
"This facility will provide Valero with a tremendous strategic
advantage in the production and distribution of ethanol," Cooper
said. "This project combines the resources and expertise of a
world-class company like Valero with one of the world's richest
grain producing regions and this port's multimodal
capabilities."
About Valero:
Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries, is an
international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels,
other petrochemical products and power. Valero subsidiaries employ
approximately 10,000 people, and assets include 16 petroleum
refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3
million barrels per day, 11 ethanol plants with a combined
production capacity of 1.3 billion gallons per year, a 50-megawatt
wind farm, and renewable diesel production from a joint venture.
Through subsidiaries, Valero owns the general partner of Valero
Energy Partners LP (NYSE: VLP), a midstream master limited
partnership. Approximately 7,400 outlets carry the Valero, Diamond
Shamrock, Shamrock and Beacon brands in the United States and the Caribbean; Ultramar in Canada; and Texaco in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Valero is a Fortune 500 company based
in San Antonio. Please visit
www.valero.com for more information.
About Aventine:
Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc. is a leading producer
of ethanol in the United States.
Its five ethanol plants, located in Illinois and Nebraska, produce approximately 350 million
gallons of ethanol per year. Aventine markets and distributes
its ethanol and related co-products leading energy and food
companies located in the United
States and around the world. Please visit
www.aventinerei.com for more information.
CONTACTS
Valero
Media: Bill Day, 210-345-2928
Investors:
John Locke, 210-345-3077
Karen Ngo, 210-345-4574
Aventine
Brian Steenhard, 309-347-9229,
brian.steenhard@aventinerei.com
SOURCE Valero Energy Corporation