Since beginning its refining and marketing activities in Canada in 1961, under the name of Ultramar, the company has not looked back. Here are a few of the notable moments in our history:
1961: Operations begin in Newfoundland as Golden Eagle, both as the company’s name and emblem
1971: Inauguration of the Lévis (Saint-Romuald) refinery
1979: Acquisition of CFM (Canadian Fuel Marketers)
1983: Acquisition of Spur stations and inauguration of the catalytic cracker at the Lévis Refinery
1986: Acquisition of Gulf’s assets in Eastern Canada
1989: Increase in refining capacity to 130,000 barrels (or 20.7 million litres) a day and addition of isomerization and desulphurization units
1990: Acquisition of Texaco’s assets in the Atlantic provinces
1994: Acquisition of Sergaz stations
1995: Launch of the Corner Store network
1996: Acquisition of Sunoco stations in Quebec and introduction of a new mode of transportation: the unit train
1997: Production of jet fuel starts
2001: The Lévis (Saint-Romuald) Refinery changes its name to the Jean Gaulin Lévis Refinery
2001: The company becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation , trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VLO.
2002: Increase in refining capacity to more than 215,000 barrels (or 34 million litres) a day
2004: Implementation of a gasoline desulphurization process to reduce sulphur content to 30 ppm
2006: Implementation of a diesel desulphurization process to reduce sulphur content to 15 ppm
2008: Refining capacity exceeds more than 265,000 barrels (or 41.5 million litres) a day
2013: Becomes Valero Energy Inc., after parent company spins off its retail sales operation to independent company operating Ultramar-branded stores, cardlock sites and home-heating business