Valero Energy Corp. on April 25 announced that its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in Texas is progressing ahead of schedule and expected to be operational this year. The company also reported its ethanol and renewable diesel operations were profitable during the first quarter. 

The SAF project is being developed by Diamond Green diesel, a joint venture between Valero and Darling Ingredients Inc. During the company’s first quarter earnings call, Valero President and CEO Lane Riggs confirmed the SAF project, under construction at DGD’s biorefinery in Port Arthur, Texas, is progressing ahead of schedule and is currently expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of this year. 

The SAF project is expected to give the Port Arthur facility the optionality to upgrade approximately 50% of its current 470 MMgy of renewable diesel capacity to SAF. During the earnings call, Valero Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Gary Simmons said the company is seeing commercial interest in SAF that exceeds the capacity of the Port Arthur project. He noted DGD has begun engineering on a second SAF project but is waiting to see how the market develops before moving forward. 

In addition to the Port Arthur facility, DGD also operates a biorefinery in Norco, Louisiana. Together, the two facilities have an annual production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year.

Valero’s renewable diesel segment, which consists of the DGD joint venture, reported $190 million operating income for the first quarter, down from $205 million during the same period of last year. Segment sales volumes averaged 3.7 million gallons per day, up 741,000 gallons per day when compared to the first quarter of 2023. Operating income was down during the three-month period due to lower renewable diesel margins. 

The ethanol segment reported $10 million of operating income for the first quarter, down from $39 million during the same period of last year. Adjusted operating income was $39 million for the first quarter of this year. Ethanol production volumes averaged 4.5 million gallons per day during the first quarter, up 283,000 gallons when compared to the same period of 2023. Ethanol production is expected to average 4.5 million gallons per day in the second quarter as well, according to Homer Bhullar, vice president of investor relations and finance at Valero. 

Overall, Valero reported net income attributable to Valero stockholders of $1.2 billion, or 3.75 per share, for the first quarter, compared to $3.1 billion, or $8.29 per share, for the same period of last year.