"In certain markets, they're already consuming natural gas in vehicles," CEO Bill Klesse told the newspaper, and the company will add natural gas pumps in Texas if there is market demand.
Valero already has some stores capable of dispensing natural gas in Colorado, the report said. [image-nocss] The refiner-marketer will do the same in Texas "if there is market demand," he said.
The first Texas Valero station with natural gas dispensers will be built along Interstate 10 near the company's San Antonio, Texas, headquarters, Klesse said at the annual shareholders' meeting Thursday, according to the report.
Also, where a Valero station has enough land, electric charging stations might be added "to help people get home," he added. But Valero's chief seemed less enthusiastic about adding charging stations, saying electric power is "problematic."
The company now sells E85 at five stores in Texas: two in San Antonio, two in Dallas and one in El Paso. The fuel is soon to be added at a Valero near Lewisville Lake in North Texas, the report said.
It saves money to plumb the stores for alternative fuels as they are being built rather than modifying stores, the report said. To add an E85 pump to an existing store costs $100,000, Klesse said.
Unleaded gasoline sold by retailers, including Valero, now includes 10% ethanol.
Valero is an international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products and power. Its assets include 14 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 2.6 million barrels per day, 10 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.1 billion gallons per year and a 50-megawatt wind farm. Valero is also one of the largest retail operators with approximately 5,800 retail and branded wholesale outlets in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean under the Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar and Beacon brands.
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