One of Valero Energy Corporation's stated commitments is to the environment "We are committed to producing environmentally clean products, while striving to improve and enhance the environmental quality of our operations within our local communities". With over $47.3 billion in assets and a rank of #9 in the Fortune 500 standing, Valero is obviously doing something right.

Valero acquired the Benicia Refinery in 2000. Built as a grass-roots project in 1968, this plant has undergone significant modifications and upgrades to become what it is today one of the most complex refineries in the United States. Approximately 70 percent of the refinery’s product slate is CARB gasoline, California’s clean-burning fuel. The refinery also has significant asphalt production capabilities and produces 25 percent of the asphalt supply in northern California. Currently, the refinery processes domestic crude from the San Joaquin Valley in California and the Alaska North Slope, along with foreign sour crudes.

• Commissioned in 1968, with significant upgrades since that time
• Acquired from ExxonMobil in 2000
• Total feedstock throughput capacity of 170,000 barrels per day
• Products including propane, butane, CARB gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), jet fuel, fuel oil, residual oil and asphalt
• Produces 10 percent of the clean-burning California Air Resources Board (CARB) gasoline used in California and 25 percent of the CARB used in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Located on 800 acres on the Carquinez Strait, a tributary of San Francisco Bay
• Strategic position allowing refinery to receive feedstocks by both ship and pipeline
• Products shipped via pipeline, truck, rail, barge and ship

Valero contracted PICA through PICA's Master Service Agreement with Brown and Caldwell to inspect its Diffuser pipeline, as part of Valero's proactive condition assessment stategy. PICA rose to the challenge, and overcame several obstacles (such as heavy internal encrustations) to complete the inspection work in late May. The photo below shows the Tool exiting the pipeline as nighfall descends.

For more information on how PICA can assist your refinery to inspect its critical buried pipeline infrastructure, contact: info@picacorp.com

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