Valero has agreed to buy LyondellBasell’s former Houston refinery site, a roughly 700-acre property next to Valero’s existing Houston refinery on the Houston Ship Channel. The deal gives Valero an opportunity to restart refining at the site: the company plans to bring back 165,000 barrels per day of throughput capacity by the end of 2027.
The purchase is a strategic expansion in the Houston refining complex, but the capacity is not expected to be operating immediately. Valero has not provided details here on the investment needed to restart the facility.
Key details
- Valero will pay $320.5 million, subject to adjustments at closing, for all equity interests in LYB Houston Hub Holdings, the entity that indirectly owns the site.
- The facility formerly operated as a petroleum refinery. Valero describes it as an opportunity to process high-complexity, heavy sour crude.
- Valero’s stated plan is to restart 165,000 barrels per day of throughput capacity by year-end 2027.
- The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including U.S. antitrust review. Valero expects it to close by the end of 2026.
- Valero identified the expected completion, financial returns, potential restart and future investment as uncertain. No specific restart spending or return figures are provided in the information available here.
What changes
If completed, the acquisition would give Valero control of a former refinery site immediately adjacent to its existing Houston refinery. The planned restart would add capacity only after the site is brought back into operation; the purchase itself does not mean the 165,000 barrels per day are immediately available.