Valero to post Q1 losses on Winter Storm Uri impact

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - Energy major Valero is expecting negative profits for the first quarter of the year after a winter storm in February, the costliest natural disaster in US history, led to higher gas and electricity costs for its refining and ethanol businesses. 

The US company is predicting a loss of $575-$595 million for the three months, of which $50-$60 million will be related to its ethanol segment and the remainder from its refining business.

Valero also suffered significant losses throughout 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19 on demand for oil products. 

The vast majority of the Q1 fall in earnings is also from the US Gulf Coast region, where the storm hit hardest, including a massive electricity generation failure in Texas which left more than 4.5 million homes and businesses without power for several days.