Valero Begins Construction of $40 Million NOx & SO2 Reduction Project at Texas Refinery

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Valero Refining Company (NYSE:VLO) (San Antonio, Texas) commenced construction of a new wet gas scrubber and a low temperature oxidation scrubber at its Houston, Texas, refinery in March 2005. Completion for both of the scrubber projects will be completed by January 2006, with project tie-ins during a plant-wide turnaround in January 2006.

Industrialinfo.com has been tracking the $40 million wet gas scrubber project since November 2001. BELCO Technologies Corporation (Parsippany, New Jersey) is providing proprietary technology for the wet gas scrubber and engineering, procurement, and construction services for both projects. The wet gas scrubber will reduce SO2 emitted from the fluid cat cracker regenerator into the atmosphere. The low temperature oxidation (LoTOx) scrubber technology will remove nitrogen oxides (NOx) from waste gas streams. The LoTOx technology is available from BELCO under license from BOC.

In addition to the scrubber investment, future construction activity will include installation of a new hydrocracker, gas unit, and sulfur recovery unit, as well as offsite upgrades to meet the new ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) environmental mandate. Construction is scheduled to begin later this month, with completion in fall 2006. Valero has awarded engineering contracts to two Houston companies.

Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio, Texas, with approximately 20,000 employees and expected revenues of $55 billion. As one of the top U.S. refining companies, Valero has an extensive refining system with a throughput capacity of approximately 2.5 million barrels per day. The company's geographically diverse refining network stretches from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast and from the West Coast to the Caribbean.

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