Valero Benicia refinery designated "Star Site" - East Bay Business Times:

Valero Benicia refinery designated "Star Site" - East Bay Business Times:: "Valero Benicia refinery designated 'Star Site'
East Bay Business Times - 9:44 AM PDT Friday

Valero Benicia Refinery was named a 'Star Site' within the California Occupational Safety & Health Administration's Voluntary Protection Program, or VPP.

The Benicia refinery, located on the Carquinez Straits of San Francisco Bay, became only the second in California to earn the designation, joining Valeros' Wilmington refinery. Just 23 of the 149 refineries in the United States have the designation. San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO), the largest refiner in the country, now has 11 Star Site refineries.

The Cal-OSHA program is tied to the Federal OSHA VPP initiative, which recognizes the nation's most effective industrial safety and health programs.

'Safety is our top priority at Valero, and the VPP program helps take our safety commitment to a new level,' said Bill Klesse, CEO and vice chairman of Valero Energy Corp., in a statement. 'It is a rigorous effort, but it has helped create a safer refinery.'

Valero acquired the Benicia refinery from Exxon Mobil Corp. in 2000, in a $1 billion deal that included over 300 gas stations. One of the newest refineries in the area, it was commissioned in 1968, and has a refining capacity of about 170,"