Valero Purchases 11th Ethanol Plant

SAN ANTONIO, March 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Valero Renewable Fuels Company, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO), announced today that it has purchased a corn ethanol plant in Mount Vernon, Ind. from Aventine Renewable Energy-Mt. Vernon, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc. The plant has an annual production capacity of 110 million gallons and uses Delta-T technology, similar to the process already in use at Valero Renewables' ethanol plant in Jefferson, Wis. 

The Mount Vernon plant is the 11^th corn ethanol plant in Valero Renewables' system and its second in Indiana. The addition will give Valero more than 1.3 billion gallons per year in ethanol production. The plant has been shut down for approximately two years, but Valero Renewables plans to begin a restart program and resume production within the next several months.

"We're looking forward to hiring employees, restarting the plant and producing ethanol," said Martin Parrish, Valero's Vice President-Alternative Energy and Development. "We intend to invest in the Mount Vernon plant to make it competitive with other top-tier ethanol facilities, and we will use the technical expertise we have gained at our other plants to look at ways to improve Mount Vernon's reliability, production rate and product yields."

Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc., CEO and President Mark Beemer states: "Aventine's strategic divestiture of the Mount Vernon plant is an important step in revitalizing and refocusing our portfolio of ethanol assets at our Pekin, Illinois and Aurora, Nebraska facilities, while also strengthening our balance sheet. Our team is successfully delivering on our aggressive turnaround strategy and is redefining Aventine as a top-tier ethanol producer."

The Mount Vernon plant's logistical advantages include ready access to corn suppliers as well as strong rail, truck and barge transportation. The plant is at the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon on a location leased from Ports of Indiana, the state port authority. That relationship will continue.

"This purchase diversifies Valero Renewables' portfolio of assets and access to markets, and it will be positive for the Mount Vernon area as well," said Gene Edwards, who has overseen Valero's ethanol plant acquisitions. "We look forward to a strong working relationship with Ports of Indiana, and as the other communities where we have ethanol plants have discovered, Valero is a great corporate citizen."

Ports of Indiana CEO Rich Cooper lauded the transaction, noting that it is Valero Renewables' first facility located at a major port on the inland waterway system.

"This facility will provide Valero with a tremendous strategic advantage in the production and distribution of ethanol," Cooper said. "This project combines the resources and expertise of a world-class company like Valero with one of the world's richest grain producing regions and this port's multimodal capabilities."

About Valero:

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries, is an international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products and power. Valero subsidiaries employ approximately 10,000 people, and assets include 16 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3 million barrels per day, 11 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.3 billion gallons per year, a 50-megawatt wind farm, and renewable diesel production from a joint venture. Through subsidiaries, Valero owns the general partner of Valero Energy Partners LP (NYSE: VLP), a midstream master limited partnership. Approximately 7,400 outlets carry the Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock and Beacon brands in the United States and the Caribbean; Ultramar in Canada; and Texaco in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Valero is a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio. Please visit www.valero.com for more information.

About Aventine:

Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc. is a leading producer of ethanol in the United States. Its five ethanol plants, located in Illinois and Nebraska, produce approximately 350 million gallons of ethanol per year.  Aventine markets and distributes its ethanol and related co-products leading energy and food companies located in the United States and around the world.  Please visit www.aventinerei.com for more information.

CONTACTS
Valero
Media:  Bill Day, 210-345-2928
Investors:
John Locke, 210-345-3077
Karen Ngo, 210-345-4574

Aventine
Brian Steenhard, 309-347-9229, [email protected]

SOURCE Valero Energy Corporation

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