Valero has problems restarting S.F. refinery unit

HOUSTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Valero Energy Corp.(NYSE:VLO - news) said on Friday gasoline production remained curtailed at its Benicia oil refinery near San Francisco after it ran into problems restarting a hydrotreater which it took down for maintenance last month.

Valero announced on Monday that it had completed maintenance work at the 135,000 barrel-per-day refinery which lasted for most of the month of January.

However, a spokeswoman said the company had encountered problems restarting the hydrotreater and that output of CARB gasoline was limited to 75,000 barrels per day, as was the case during the maintenance turnaround. The refinery's normal CARB gasoline output is about 128,000 barrels per day.

CARB gasoline is a clean-burning gasoline manufactured to specifications set by the California Air Resources Board.

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