Valero to Buy Houston Hub Equity in $320.5 Million Deal

The Tip Desk · October 31, 2026 · 2 min read

The refiner said the purchase expands its U.S. Gulf Coast footprint at a fraction of replacement value and leaves open a later move into heavy sour crude processing.

Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) said its wholly owned subsidiary, Valero Refining-Texas, L.P., entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding equity interests of LYB Houston Hub Holdings LLC from a subsidiary of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. for $320.5 million, subject to closing adjustments.

LYB Houston indirectly owns an approximately 700-acre facility adjacent to Valero’s Houston refinery on the Houston Ship Channel in Texas that operated as a petroleum refinery. Closing is subject to customary conditions, including expiration or termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period, and is expected by the end of 2026.

Valero currently expects to initially restart 165,000 BPD of light sweet crude processing capacity by year-end 2027. The acquisition also provides the opportunity to later invest in high-complexity, heavy sour crude processing.

“This acquisition is a unique opportunity to strategically expand Valero’s U.S. Gulf Coast footprint at a fraction of replacement value and enhance the long-term strength of our refining system,” said Lane Riggs, Chairman, CEO and President of Valero.

“It is expected to provide a compelling financial return, consistent with Valero’s disciplined capital allocation framework, while generating attractive commercial optimization opportunities and supporting future investment in high-complexity, heavy sour crude oil processing.”

Valero operates 14 petroleum refineries in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.0 million barrels per day, according to its October 2026 earnings materials. It is a joint venture member in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC, which produces low-carbon fuels including renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel with a production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

The Houston hub purchase sits alongside that Gulf Coast refining and low-carbon footprint rather than as a stand-alone bolt-on. Management framed the assets as a way to add capacity at a cost well below what a new build would require, while preserving a path into heavier, higher-complexity crude if the company later chooses to invest.

Valero ended the third quarter of 2026 with $8.6 billion of total debt, $2.4 billion of total finance lease obligations, and $9.8 billion of cash and cash equivalents. The debt to capitalization ratio, net of cash and cash equivalents, was 4 percent as of September 30, 2026.