Valero 2013 Annual Report Download - page 11

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2013 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT 2013 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT
After receiving the industry’s most prestigious
safety award in 2011, the Valero Houston Refinery
might have been forgiven a performance letdown
since. But that hasn’t happened. Far from it.
For two out of the past four years, the refinery has
been the most reliable in the Valero system, with
no unplanned major-unit outages in 2013, placing
it in the top quarter of the industry in mechanical
availability, and recording the longest time
between needed
pump repairs among
Valero refineries.
And then there
was this: It set
a plant record
for profitability
in 2013. The
correlation between
performance and
profits is not lost
on Valero’s top
management.
“When refineries
are available to run,”
says Lane Riggs,
Valero Executive Vice
President-Refining
Operations and
Engineering, “the
opportunity is there to set records.”
Improving refining operations is at the forefront of
Valero’s strategy to enhance returns and increase
long-term shareholder value. The company’s
pursuit of excellence in operations is driving
its goal to achieve “first-quartile,” or industry
top-quarter, performance across key refining
benchmarks.
Industry surveys reflect significant improvement
across Valero’s refining system during the past
six years, including its highest-ever mechanical
availability – the percentage of time a plant’s
equipment is available for operation. Other
improvements have come in maintenance, energy
efficiency and operating cost. Valero expects
further improvements as its reliability programs
continue to mature.
“This pattern of continuing improvement in
reliability reflects our employees’ commitment to
making our reliability programs effective, and to
improving our turnaround execution,” Riggs said. In
addition to Houston’s
performance,
Valero’s Jean Gaulin
refinery in Quebec
achieved 100
percent mechanical
availability, outside
of turnarounds, in
2013.
Importantly, a reliable
operation drives
improved safety
and environmental
performance.
Safety is Valero’s
No. 1 priority.
The company’s
frequency of “Tier
1” process safety
events – as defined
by American Petroleum Institute practice – has
steadily decreased, with event rates dropping 63
percent since 2008. The performance reflects a
sharp focus on materials and inspection, rotating
equipment reliability, electrical reliability, and
automation and controls effectiveness.
At Houston, for example, operators use high-
tech equipment to detect vibration on large
compressors, and IntelaTrac hand-held devices
to gather and log a variety of information during
routine rounds. The refinery also uses “rope-
access” inspectors who rappel down large units to
check the metal integrity of columns and piping.
Driving Operational Success:
Pursuing Excellence Creates Value
is pattern
of continuing
improvement
in reliability
reflects our
employees’
commitment
to making
our reliability
programs
effective, and
to improving
our turnaround
execution.
Lane Riggs
Executive Vice President-
Refining Operations and
Engineering