Cover and table of contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☑			ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

OR

☐			TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
			For the transition period from _______________ to _______________

Commission file number 001-13175

VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware			74-1828067
(State or other jurisdiction of			(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)			Identification No.)

One Valero Way

San Antonio, Texas 78249

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (210) 345-2000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class						Trading Symbol(s)						Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock						VLO						New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes ☐ No ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

			Large accelerated filer									☑						Accelerated filer												☐						Non-accelerated filer												☐
						Smaller reporting company															☐						Emerging growth company															☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☑

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $31.9 billion based on the last sales price quoted as of June 30, 2021 on the New York Stock Exchange, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

As of February 18, 2022, 409,303,630 shares of the registrant’s common stock were outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

We intend to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission a definitive Proxy Statement for our Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled for April 28, 2022, at which directors will be elected. Portions of the 2022 Proxy Statement are incorporated by reference in PART III of this Form 10-K and are deemed to be a part of this report.

CROSS-REFERENCE SHEET

The following table indicates the headings in the 2022 Proxy Statement where certain information required in PART III of this Form 10-K may be found.

Form 10-K Item No. and Caption									Heading in 2022 Proxy Statement
10.			Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance						“Information Regarding the Board of Directors — Committees of the Board — Audit Committee — Meetings and Current Members,” “Proposal No. 1 Election of Directors — Information Concerning Nominees and Other Directors,” “Proposal No. 1 Election of Directors — Nominees,” “Identification of Executive Officers,” and “Miscellaneous — Governance Documents and Codes of Ethics”
11.			Executive Compensation						“Information Regarding the Board of Directors — Committees of the Board — Compensation Committee —Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation,” “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Executive Compensation,” “Director Compensation,” “Pay Ratio Disclosure,” and “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions”
12.			Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters						“Beneficial Ownership of Valero Securities” and “Equity Compensation Plan Information”
13.			Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence						“Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” and “Information Regarding the Board of Directors — Independent Directors”
14.			Principal Accountant Fees and Services						“KPMG LLP Fees”

Copies of all documents incorporated by reference, other than exhibits to such documents, will be provided without charge to each person who receives a copy of this Form 10-K upon written request to Valero Energy Corporation, Attn: Secretary, P.O. Box 696000, San Antonio, Texas 78269-6000.

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CONTENTS

						PAGE
PART I						1
Items 1. & 2.			Business and Properties			1
			Our Business			1
			Our Comprehensive Liquid Fuels Strategy			1
			Environmental Management Systems			5
			Our Operations			5
			Government Regulations			12
			Human Capital			13
			Properties			16
			Available Information			16
Item 1A.			Risk Factors			17
Item 1B.			Unresolved Staff Comments			32
Item 3.			Legal Proceedings			32
Item 4.			Mine Safety Disclosures			33
PART II						33
Item 5.			Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities			33
Item 6.			[Reserved]			35
Item 7.			Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			35
Item 7A.			Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk			64
Item 8.			Financial Statements and Supplementary Data			66
Item 9.			Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure			138
Item 9A.			Controls and Procedures			138
Item 9B.			Other Information			138
Item 9C.			Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections			138
PART III						139
Item 10.			Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance			139
Item 11.			Executive Compensation			139
Item 12.			Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters			139
Item 13.			Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence			139
Item 14.			Principal Accountant Fees and Services			139
PART IV						139
Item 15.			Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules			139
Item 16.			Form 10-K Summary			143
Signature						144

ii

The terms “Valero,” “we,” “our,” and “us,” as used in this report, may refer to Valero Energy Corporation, one or more of its consolidated subsidiaries, or all of them taken as a whole. The term “DGD,” as used in this report, may refer to Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC, its wholly owned consolidated subsidiary, or both of them taken as a whole. In this Form 10-K, we make certain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions, and resources under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should read our forward-looking statements together with our disclosures beginning on page 35 of this report under the heading “CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF SAFE HARBOR PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995.” Note references in this report to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements can be found beginning on page 76, under “PART II, ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.”

PART I

ITEMS 1. and 2. BUSINESS AND PROPERTIES

OUR BUSINESS

We are a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio, Texas. Our corporate offices are at One Valero Way, San Antonio, Texas, 78249, and our telephone number is (210) 345-2000. We were incorporated in Delaware in 1981 under the name Valero Refining and Marketing Company. We changed our name to Valero Energy Corporation in 1997. Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the trading symbol “VLO.”

We are a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products, and we sell our products primarily in the United States (U.S.), Canada, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Ireland, and Latin America. We own 15 petroleum refineries located in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day (BPD). We are a joint venture member in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC (DGD)1, which owns a renewable diesel plant located in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. with a production capacity of 700 million gallons per year, and we own 12 ethanol plants located in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S. with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.6 billion gallons per year. We manage our operations through our Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol segments. See “OUR OPERATIONS” below for additional information about the operations, products, and properties of each of our reportable segments.

OUR COMPREHENSIVE LIQUID FUELS STRATEGY

Overview

We strive to manage our business to responsibly meet the world’s growing demand for reliable and affordable energy. We believe that liquid transportation fuels—both petroleum-based and low-carbon— help meet that demand, and we expect that they will continue to be an essential source of transportation fuels well into the future. Our strategic actions have enabled us to be a low-cost, efficient, and reliable supplier of these liquid transportation fuels to much of the world.

1 DGD is a joint venture with Darling Ingredients Inc. (Darling) and we consolidate DGD’s financial statements. See Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements regarding our accounting for DGD.

Our petroleum refineries operate in locations with current operating cost and/or other advantages, as described below under “OUR OPERATIONS—Refining,” and we believe our refineries are positioned to meet the strong worldwide demand for our petroleum-based products. Through our refining business, we believe that we have developed expertise in liquid fuels manufacturing and a platform for the marketing and distribution of liquid fuels, and we seek to leverage this expertise and platform to expand and optimize our low-carbon fuels businesses. We expect that low-carbon liquid fuels will continue to be a growing part of the energy mix, and we have made multibillion-dollar investments to develop and grow our low-carbon renewable diesel and ethanol businesses, as described below under “OUR OPERATIONS—Renewable Diesel,” and “—Ethanol.” These businesses have made us one of the world’s largest low-carbon fuels producers and have helped governments across the world achieve their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets. Even so, we continue to seek low-carbon fuel opportunities and to improve our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

Regulations, Policies, and Standards Driving Low-Carbon Fuel Demand

Governments across the world have issued, or are considering issuing, low-carbon fuel regulations, policies, and standards to help reduce GHG emissions and increase the percentage of low-carbon fuels in the transportation fuel mix. These regulations, policies, and standards include, but are not limited to, the RFS, LCFS, and similar programs (collectively, the Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuel Blending Programs). The RFS and LCFS programs are defined and discussed below under “U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program” and “California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).” While many of these regulations, policies, and standards result in additional costs to our refining business, they have created opportunities for us to develop our renewable diesel and ethanol businesses, and they should continue to help drive the demand for our renewable diesel and ethanol products. We believe that our ability to supply these low-carbon fuels can play an important role in helping achieve GHG emissions reduction targets.

The U.S. and California low-carbon fuel regulations, policies, and standards discussed below currently have the most significant impact on our business. However, other municipal, state, and national governments across the world, including in many of the jurisdictions in which we operate, have issued, or are considering issuing, similar low-carbon fuel regulations, policies, and standards. See “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS—Legal, Governmental, and Regulatory Risks—Compliance with, or developments concerning, the Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuel Blending Programs, and other regulations, policies, and standards impacting the demand for low-carbon fuels could adversely affect our performance.” In addition, see Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements regarding our accounting for the costs of the blending programs under *“*Costs of Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuel Blending Programs,” Note 21 for disclosure of the costs of the blending programs under “Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuel Blending Programs Price Risk,” and Note 18 for disclosure of our blender’s tax credits under “Segment Information.”

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program

The EPA created the RFS program pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Under the RFS program, by November 30 of each year, the EPA is required to set annual quotas for the volume of renewable fuels that must be blended into petroleum-based transportation fuels consumed in the U.S. in the next compliance year. The quotas are set by class of renewable fuel (i.e., biomass-based diesel, cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel) and are collectively referred to as the renewable volume obligation (RVO). The RVO must be met by obligated parties, who are the producers and importers of the petroleum-based transportation fuels consumed in the U.S. Obligated parties demonstrate compliance annually by retiring the appropriate number of renewable identification numbers (RINs) associated with each class of renewable fuel to

satisfy their obligations for the previous calendar year. A RIN is effectively a compliance credit that is assigned to each gallon of qualifying renewable fuel produced in, or imported into, the U.S. RINs are obtained by blending renewable fuels into petroleum-based transportation fuels, and obligated parties can also achieve compliance by purchasing RINs in the open market.

We are an obligated party under this program and our Refining segment incurs obligations as a result of being a producer and importer of petroleum-based transportation fuels consumed in the U.S., but we are also a renewable fuels producer and blender under this program and generate RINs as a result of being a producer and blender of renewable diesel, renewable naphtha, and ethanol. Therefore, there is a cost to our refining business from this program because we must purchase RINs to comply with our RVO; however, we also generate revenue from this program because we produce and sell qualifying renewable fuels.

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)

Under California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was required to undertake a statewide effort to reduce GHG emissions. One of the programs designed to help achieve those reductions is the LCFS program. The LCFS program is designed to reduce GHG emissions by decreasing the carbon intensity (CI) of transportation fuels consumed in the state. Under this program, each fuel is assigned a CI value, which is intended to represent the GHG emissions associated with the feedstocks from which the fuel was produced, the fuel production and distribution activities, and the use of the finished fuel. CIs are determined using a CARB-developed life cycle GHG emissions analysis model, and CI pathways are certified by the CARB after low-carbon fuel producers submit operational data to demonstrate the life cycle GHG emissions. The certified CIs for both low-carbon and petroleum-based fuels are compared to a declining annual benchmark. Fuels below the benchmark generate credits, while fuels above the benchmark generate deficits. The lower the fuel’s CI score compared to the benchmark, the greater number of credits generated. Each producer or importer of fuel must demonstrate that the overall mix of fuels it supplies for use in California meets the CI benchmarks for each compliance period. A producer or importer with a fuel mix that is above the CI benchmark must purchase LCFS credits sufficient to meet the CI benchmark.

We produce and import petroleum-based transportation fuels in California and thus must blend low-CI fuels or purchase credits to meet the CI benchmark. However, fuels produced by our Renewable Diesel and Ethanol segments have CI scores that are lower than traditional petroleum-based transportation fuels, and we benefit from the demand from other regulated entities for these low-carbon products. In addition, the demand for some of these low-carbon transportation fuels tends to drive higher values for those fuels compared to petroleum-based transportation fuels due to their lower CI scores. We seek to pursue opportunities to further lower the CI of many of our products, including our low-carbon fuels. See “Our Low-Carbon Projects” below.

U.S. Federal Tax Incentives

The U.S. federal government has enacted tax incentives to encourage the production of low-carbon fuels and/or reduce GHG emissions. For example, Section 6426 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), provides a tax credit (generally referred to as the blender’s tax credit) to blenders of certain renewable fuels to encourage the production and blending of those fuels with traditional petroleum-based transportation fuels. Only blenders that have produced a mixture and either sold or used the fuel mixture as fuel are eligible for the blender’s tax credit. The renewable diesel produced by our Renewable Diesel segment is a liquid fuel derived from biomass that meets the EPA’s fuel registration requirements; therefore, renewable diesel that we produce and blend qualifies for this refundable tax credit of one dollar per gallon. Under existing legislation, this credit will not apply to any sale or use of

renewable diesel for any period after December 31, 2022 unless extended. The Build Back Better Act, as passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on November 19, 2021, would extend this credit through December 31, 2026, but there is no certainty that this legislation will become law or that the provision contained in this legislation authorizing the credit or the amount of the credit will not be revised. However, legislation authorizing this credit has been extended or retroactively extended since its inception in 2004.

In addition, Section 45Q (45Q) of the Code provides federal income tax credits to certain taxpayers who capture and sequester, store, or use qualified carbon oxides (e.g., carbon dioxide) in accordance with the provisions of 45Q. We continually evaluate such federal income tax incentives, and may strategically pursue certain opportunities to optimize the potential benefits therefrom. For instance, the carbon capture and sequestration projects at our ethanol plants discussed below under “Our Low-Carbon Projects” should increase the value of the ethanol product produced at those plants by helping decrease its CI score and through the expected generation of 45Q tax credits*.*

Our Low-Carbon Projects

We have invested $4.2 billion2 to date in our low-carbon fuels businesses, and we expect additional growth opportunities in this area. In 2021, we completed the expansion of DGD’s existing renewable diesel plant (the DGD Plant). The expansion increased the DGD Plant’s renewable diesel production capacity by 410 million gallons per year, bringing DGD’s total renewable diesel production capacity to 700 million gallons per year, and provided DGD with the ability to produce 30 million gallons per year of renewable naphtha. Also in 2021, DGD commenced construction of its second plant. Over the next 15 months, we expect to invest approximately $800 million to complete the construction of DGD’s second plant, which is expected to have a production capacity of 470 million gallons of renewable diesel and 20 million gallons of renewable naphtha per year. See “OUR OPERATIONS—Renewable Diesel” below for additional information about the expansion of our renewable diesel business.

We continue to evaluate and advance investments in economic, low-carbon projects, including projects that are intended to lower the CI of our products. For example, in March 2021, we announced our participation in a large-scale carbon capture and sequestration pipeline system in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S. that is expected to capture, transport, and store carbon dioxide that results from the ethanol manufacturing process at our eight ethanol plants located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. We expect to be the anchor shipper with those eight ethanol plants connected to the system. The capture and sequestration of this carbon dioxide should result in the generation of 45Q tax credits and the production of a lower CI ethanol product that we expect to market in low-carbon fuel markets, which is expected to result in a higher value for this product. A third party is expected to construct, own, and operate the system, and we believe that our capital investment to purchase, install, and connect the applicable carbon capture equipment to the system will not be material. Initial service is anticipated to begin in late 2024. Additionally, certain of our other ethanol plants are located near geology believed to be suitable for sequestering carbon dioxide, and we are evaluating stand-alone projects to sequester carbon dioxide that results from the ethanol manufacturing process at those plants. See “ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS—LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES—Our Capital Resources

2 Our investment to date in our low-carbon fuels businesses consists of $2.5 billion in capital investments to build our renewable diesel business and $1.7 billion to build our ethanol business. Capital investments in renewable diesel represent 100 percent of the capital investments made by DGD. See also “ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS—LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES—Our Capital Resources—Capital Investments,” which is incorporated by reference into this item for our definition of capital investments.

—Capital Investments” for further discussion of our capital investments associated with low-carbon projects.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

We have well-developed management structures that are central to our decision making and risk management, including three programs that support our environmental management as follows:

• Our Commitment to Excellence Management System (CTEMS) is a proprietary systematic approach to planning, executing, checking, and acting to improve everyday work activities at many of our refineries and plants. CTEMS has 10 elements: leadership accountability, protecting people and the environment, people and skills development, operations reliability and mechanical integrity, technical excellence and knowledge management, change management, business competitiveness, stakeholder relationships, assurance and review, and continual improvement. Risks related to regulatory issues and physical threats to our refineries and plants are among those assessed as we implement CTEMS.

• Environmental Excellence and Risk Assessment (EERA) elevates the environmental audit and compliance functions to an environmental excellence vision. Its main goal is to assess the design and effectiveness of environmental performance regarding specific excellence objectives, and to facilitate continuous improvement across the company. EERA defines more than 100 expectations and involves a proprietary five-step process using due diligence on data and field assessments reviewed by a combination of external and internal subject matter experts.

• Our Fuels Regulatory Assurance Program provides operational safeguards, software, training, and protocols for uniformity across our refineries and plants to reinforce our compliance with applicable fuels regulations. Building on the success of this system, we are developing a proprietary Low-Carbon Assurance Program designed to provide tools and oversight to assure compliance with the increasingly complex array of low-carbon fuels programs.

OUR OPERATIONS

Our operations are managed through the following reportable segments:

• our Refining segment, which includes the operations of our petroleum refineries, the associated activities to market our refined petroleum products, and the logistics assets that support those operations;

• our Renewable Diesel segment, which includes the operations of DGD and the associated activities to market renewable diesel; and

• our Ethanol segment, which includes the operations of our ethanol plants and the associated activities to market our ethanol and co-products.

Financial information about these segments is presented in Note 18 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is incorporated by reference into this item.

See “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS—Risks Related to Our Business, Industry, and Operations—Our financial results are affected by volatile margins, which are dependent upon factors beyond our control,

including the price of crude oil, corn, and other feedstocks and the market price at which we can sell our products,”—“Disruption of our ability to obtain crude oil, waste and renewable feedstocks, corn, and other feedstocks could adversely affect our operations,”—“Technological and industry developments, and evolving investor and market sentiment regarding fossil fuels and GHG emissions, may decrease the demand for our products and could adversely affect our performance,”—“Our investments in joint ventures and other entities decrease our ability to manage risk,” and —“Legal, Governmental, and Regulatory Risks—Compliance with, or developments concerning, the Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuel Blending Programs, and other regulations, policies, and standards impacting the demand for low-carbon fuels could adversely affect our performance,” which are incorporated by reference into this item.

Refining

Refineries

Overview

Our 15 petroleum refineries are located in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., and they have a combined feedstock throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million BPD. The following table presents the locations of these refineries and their feedstock throughput capacities as of December 31, 2021.

Refinery						Location						Throughput Capacity (a) (BPD)
U.S.:
Benicia						California						170,000
Wilmington						California						135,000
Meraux						Louisiana						135,000
St. Charles						Louisiana						340,000
Ardmore						Oklahoma						90,000
Memphis						Tennessee						195,000
Corpus Christi (b)						Texas						370,000
Houston						Texas						255,000
McKee						Texas						200,000
Port Arthur						Texas						395,000
Texas City						Texas						260,000
Three Rivers						Texas						100,000
Canada:
Quebec City						Quebec						235,000
U.K.:
Pembroke						Wales						270,000
Total												3,150,000

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(a)Throughput capacity represents estimated capacity for processing crude oil, intermediates, and other feedstocks. Total estimated crude oil capacity is approximately 2.6 million BPD.

(b)Represents the combined capacities of two refineries – the Corpus Christi East and Corpus Christi West Refineries.

• California

◦Benicia Refinery. Our Benicia Refinery is located northeast of San Francisco on the Carquinez Straits of San Francisco Bay. It processes sour crude oils into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt. Gasoline production is primarily California Reformulated Blendstock Gasoline for

Oxygenate Blending (CARBOB), which meets CARB specifications when blended with ethanol. The refinery receives crude oil feedstocks via a marine dock and crude oil pipelines connected to a southern California crude oil delivery system. Most of the refinery’s products are distributed via pipeline and truck rack into northern California markets.

◦Wilmington Refinery. Our Wilmington Refinery is located near Los Angeles. The refinery processes a blend of heavy and high-sulfur crude oils. The refinery produces CARBOB gasoline, diesel, CARB diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt. The refinery is connected by pipeline to marine terminals and associated dock facilities that move and store crude oil and other feedstocks. Refined petroleum products are distributed via pipeline systems to various third-party terminals in Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona.

• Louisiana

◦Meraux Refinery. Our Meraux Refinery is located approximately 15 miles southeast of New Orleans on the Mississippi River. The refinery processes sour and sweet crude oils into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and high-sulfur fuel oil. The refinery receives crude oil at its dock and has access to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port. Finished products are shipped from the refinery’s dock and through the Colonial Pipeline. The refinery is located about 40 miles from our St. Charles Refinery, allowing for integration of feedstocks and refined petroleum product blending.

◦St. Charles Refinery. Our St. Charles Refinery is located approximately 25 miles west of New Orleans on the Mississippi River. The refinery processes sour crude oils and other feedstocks into gasoline and diesel. The refinery receives crude oil over docks and has access to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port. Finished products are shipped over these docks and through our Parkway pipeline and the Bengal pipeline, which ultimately provide access to the Plantation and Colonial pipeline networks.

*•*Oklahoma

◦Ardmore Refinery. Our Ardmore Refinery is located approximately 100 miles south of Oklahoma City. It processes sweet and sour crude oils into gasoline and diesel. The refinery predominantly receives Permian Basin and Cushing-sourced crude oil via third-party pipelines. Refined petroleum products are transported via rail, trucks, and the Magellan pipeline system.

*•*Tennessee

◦Memphis Refinery. Our Memphis Refinery is located on the Mississippi River. It processes primarily sweet crude oils. Most of its production is gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels. The refinery’s crude oil supply is primarily delivered by pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma via the Diamond Pipeline and from North Dakota via the Dakota Access Pipeline. Crude oil can also be received, along with other feedstocks, via barge. Most of the refinery’s products are distributed via truck rack and barges.

*•*Texas

◦Corpus Christi East and West Refineries. Our Corpus Christi East and West Refineries are located on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. The East Refinery processes sour crude oil, and the West Refinery processes sweet crude oil, sour crude oil, and residual fuel oil. The feedstocks are delivered by tanker and barge via deepwater docking facilities on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, and West Texas or South Texas crude oil is delivered via pipelines. The refineries’ physical locations allow for the transfer of various feedstocks and blending components between

them. The refineries produce gasoline, aromatics, jet fuel, diesel, and asphalt. Truck racks service local markets for gasoline, diesel, jet fuels, liquefied petroleum gases, and asphalt. These and other finished products are also distributed by ship and barge across docks and third-party pipelines.

◦Houston Refinery. Our Houston Refinery is located on the Houston Ship Channel. It processes sweet crude and intermediate oils into gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel. The refinery receives its feedstocks primarily by various interconnecting pipelines and also has waterborne-receiving capability at deepwater docking facilities on the Houston Ship Channel. The majority of its finished products are delivered to local, mid-continent U.S., and northeastern U.S. markets through various pipelines, including the Colonial and Explorer pipelines.

◦McKee Refinery. Our McKee Refinery is located in the Texas Panhandle. It processes primarily sweet crude oils into gasoline, diesel, jet fuels, and asphalt. The refinery has access to local and Permian Basin crude oil sources via third-party pipelines. Refined petroleum products are transported primarily via third-party pipelines and rail to markets in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Mexico.

◦Port Arthur Refinery. Our Port Arthur Refinery is located on the Texas Gulf Coast approximately 90 miles east of Houston. The refinery processes heavy sour crude oils and other feedstocks into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The refinery receives crude oil by rail, marine docks, and pipelines. Finished products are distributed into the Colonial, Explorer, and other pipelines, and across the refinery docks into ships and barges. The refinery’s new coker project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023.

◦Texas City Refinery. Our Texas City Refinery is located southeast of Houston on the Houston Ship Channel. The refinery processes crude oils into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The refinery receives its feedstocks by pipeline and by ship or barge via deepwater docking facilities on the Houston Ship Channel. The refinery uses ships and barges, as well as the Colonial, Explorer, and other pipelines for distribution of its products.

◦Three Rivers Refinery. Our Three Rivers Refinery is located in South Texas between Corpus Christi and San Antonio. It primarily processes sweet crude oils into gasoline, distillates, and aromatics. The refinery receives crude oil from West Texas and South Texas through third-party pipelines and trucks. The refinery distributes its refined petroleum products primarily through third-party pipelines.

• Canada

◦Quebec City Refinery. Our Quebec City Refinery is located in Lévis (near Quebec City). It processes sweet crude oils into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, and low-sulfur fuel oil. The refinery receives crude oil by ship at its deepwater dock on the St. Lawrence River and by pipeline and ship (via the St. Lawrence River from a crude terminal in Montreal) from western Canada. The refinery transports its products through our pipeline from Quebec City to our terminal in Montreal and to various other terminals throughout eastern Canada by rail, ships, trucks, and third-party pipelines.

• U.K.

◦Pembroke Refinery. Our Pembroke Refinery is located in the County of Pembrokeshire in South West Wales. The refinery processes primarily sweet crude oils into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel,

heating oil, and low-sulfur fuel oil. The refinery receives all of its feedstocks and delivers some of its products by ship and barge via deepwater docking facilities on the Milford Haven Waterway, with its remaining products being delivered through our Mainline pipeline system and by trucks. The refinery’s new cogeneration project was completed and commissioned in the third quarter of 2021.

Feedstock Supply

Our crude oil feedstocks are purchased through a combination of term and spot contracts. Our term supply contracts are at market-related prices and feedstocks are purchased directly or indirectly from various national oil companies as well as international and U.S. oil companies. The contracts generally permit the parties to amend the contracts (or terminate them), effective as of the next scheduled renewal date, by giving the other party proper notice within a prescribed period of time (e.g., 60 days, 6 months) before expiration of the current term. The majority of the crude oil purchased under our term contracts is purchased at the producer’s official stated price (i.e., the “market” price established by the seller for all purchasers) and not at a negotiated price specific to us.

Marketing

Overview

We sell refined petroleum products in both the wholesale rack and bulk markets. These sales include refined petroleum products that are manufactured in our refining operations, as well as refined petroleum products purchased or received on exchange from third parties. Most of our refineries have access to marine transportation facilities, and they interconnect with common-carrier pipeline systems, allowing us to sell products in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Latin America, and other parts of the world.

Wholesale Rack Sales

We sell our gasoline and distillate products, as well as other products, such as asphalt, lube oils, and natural gas liquids (NGLs), on a wholesale basis through an extensive rack marketing network. The principal purchasers of our refined petroleum products from terminal truck racks are wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and truck-delivered end users throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Latin America.

The majority of our rack volume is sold through unbranded channels. The remainder is sold to distributors and dealers that are members of the Valero-brand family that operate branded sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Mexico. These sites are independently owned and are supplied by us under multi-year contracts. Approximately 7,000 outlets carry our brand names. For branded sites, products are sold under the Valero®, Beacon®, Diamond Shamrock®, and Shamrock® brands in the U.S., the Ultramar® brand in Canada, the Texaco® brand in the U.K. and Ireland, and the Valero® brand in Mexico.

Bulk Sales

We also sell our gasoline and distillate products, as well as other products, such as asphalt, petrochemicals, and NGLs, through bulk sales channels in the U.S. and international markets. Our bulk sales are made to various oil companies, traders, and bulk end users, such as railroads, airlines, and utilities. Our bulk sales are transported primarily by pipelines, barges, and tankers to major tank farms and trading hubs.

Logistics

We own logistics assets (crude oil pipelines, refined petroleum product pipelines, terminals, tanks, marine docks, truck rack bays, and other assets) that support our refining operations. Demand for transportation fuels in Latin America is expected to continue to grow. To support our wholesale rack operations in Latin

America, we have invested in or grown our access to terminals and transloading facilities in Mexico and Peru. Our U.S. Gulf Coast refineries are well positioned to support export growth to Latin America and other countries around the world.

Renewable Diesel

Our Relationship with DGD

DGD is a joint venture that we consolidate. We entered into the DGD joint venture in 2011 and it began operations in 2013. See Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements regarding our accounting for DGD. We operate the DGD Plant and perform certain management functions for DGD as an independent contractor under an agreement with DGD.

Renewable Diesel Plant

The DGD Plant produces renewable diesel and is located next to our St. Charles Refinery in Norco, Louisiana. Renewable diesel is a low-carbon liquid transportation fuel that is interchangeable with petroleum-based diesel. Renewable diesel is produced from waste and renewable feedstocks using a pre-treatment process and an advanced hydroprocessing-isomerization process. The market value of the renewable diesel can vary based on regional policies, feedstock preferences, and CI scores. Waste feedstocks (predominantly animal fats, used cooking oils, and inedible distillers corn oil) are the preferred feedstocks due to their lower CI scores. While several other companies have made, or have announced interest in making, investments in renewable diesel projects, the DGD Plant is currently one of only a few operational facilities that has the capacity to process 100 percent waste and renewable feedstocks, and this feedstock flexibility currently provides a margin advantage.

The DGD Plant receives waste and renewable feedstocks primarily by rail, trucks, ships, and barges owned by third parties. DGD is party to a raw material supply agreement with Darling under which Darling is obligated to offer to DGD a portion of its feedstock requirements at market pricing, but DGD is not obligated to purchase all or any part of its feedstock from Darling. Therefore, DGD pursues the most optimal feedstock supply available.

DGD began an expansion of the DGD Plant in 2019 and operations commenced in the fourth quarter of 2021. This expansion increased the DGD Plant’s renewable diesel production capacity by 410 million gallons per year, bringing DGD’s total renewable diesel production capacity to 700 million gallons per year, and provided DGD with the ability to produce 30 million gallons per year of renewable naphtha. Renewable naphtha is used to produce renewable gasoline and renewable plastics.

Additionally, in January 2021, DGD began construction of a new 470 million gallons per year renewable diesel plant located next to our Port Arthur Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. This new plant is expected to commence operations in the first quarter of 2023, and is expected to increase DGD’s total renewable diesel and renewable naphtha production capacities to approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year and 50 million gallons per year, respectively.

Marketing

DGD sells renewable diesel under the Diamond Green Diesel® brand primarily to be blended with petroleum-based diesel and to end users for use in their operations. DGD sells renewable diesel domestically and into international markets, primarily Canada and Europe. Renewable diesel is distributed primarily by rail and ships owned by third parties.

Ethanol

Ethanol Plants

Our ethanol business began in 2009 with the purchase of our first ethanol plants. We have since grown the business by purchasing additional ethanol plants. Our 12 ethanol plants are located in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S., and they have a combined ethanol production capacity of approximately 1.6 billion gallons per year. Our ethanol plants are dry mill facilities that process corn to produce ethanol and various co-products, including livestock feed (dry distillers grains, or DDGs, and syrup), and inedible corn oil.

The following table presents the locations of our ethanol plants, their annual production capacities for ethanol (in millions of gallons) and DDGs (in tons), and their annual corn processing capacities (in millions of bushels).

State						City						Ethanol Production Capacity						DDG Production Capacity						Corn Processing Capacity
Indiana						Bluffton						135						355,000						47
						Linden						135						355,000						47
						Mount Vernon						100						263,000						35
Iowa						Albert City (a)						135						355,000						47
						Charles City (a)						140						368,000						49
						Fort Dodge (a)						140						368,000						49
						Hartley (a)						140						368,000						49
						Lakota (a) (b)						110						289,000						38
Minnesota						Welcome (a)						140						368,000						49
Nebraska						Albion (a)						135						355,000						47
Ohio						Bloomingburg						135						355,000						47
South Dakota						Aurora (a)						140						368,000						49
Total												1,585						4,167,000						553

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(a)These plants are expected to participate in the carbon capture and sequestration pipeline system discussed in “Our Low-Carbon Projects” above.

(b)This plant is able to produce USP-grade ethanol (a product that typically has a higher market value than fuel-grade ethanol), which reduces its ethanol production capacity to approximately 55 million gallons per year. USP stands for U.S. Pharmacopeia and is an organization that develops quality and safety standards for medicine, food, and dietary supplements.

The foregoing table excludes data relating to our Jefferson, Wisconsin and Riga, Michigan ethanol plants, which ceased operations in 2021 and 2020, respectively. See Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements regarding our accounting for these ceased operations.

We source our corn supply from local farmers and commercial elevators. We publish on our website a corn bid for local farmers and cooperative dealers to facilitate corn supply transactions. Our plants receive corn primarily by rail and truck.

Marketing

We sell our ethanol under term and spot contracts in bulk markets in the U.S. We also export our ethanol into the global markets. We distribute our ethanol primarily by rail (using some railcars owned by us) and

third-party trucks, barges, and vessels. We sell DDGs primarily to animal feed customers in the U.S., Mexico, and Asia, which are transported primarily by third-party rail, trucks, and vessels.

Seasonality

Demand for gasoline, diesel, and asphalt is higher during the spring and summer months than during the winter months in most of our markets, primarily due to seasonal increases in highway traffic and construction. The demand for renewable diesel has not significantly fluctuated by season. Ethanol is primarily blended into gasoline, and as a result, ethanol demand typically moves in line with the demand for gasoline.

GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS

We incorporate by reference into this Item the disclosures on government regulations, including environmental regulations, contained in the following sections of this report:

• —OUR COMPREHENSIVE LIQUID FUELS STRATEGY—Regulations, Policies, and Standards Driving Low-Carbon Fuel Demand”;

• “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS—Legal, Governmental, and Regulatory Risks”; and

• “ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS—ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT MATTERS.”

Capital Expenditures Attributable to Compliance with Government Regulations

Compliance with government regulations, including environmental regulations, did not have a material effect on our capital expenditures in 2021, and we currently do not expect that compliance with these regulations will have material effects on our capital expenditures in 2022.

Other

Because our business is heavily regulated, our costs for compliance with government regulations are significant and can be material, especially costs associated with the Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuel Blending Programs disclosed in Notes 20 and 21 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which are incorporated by reference into this item.

HUMAN CAPITAL

We believe that our employees provide a competitive advantage for our success. We seek to foster a culture that supports diversity, equality, and inclusion, and we strive to provide a safe, healthy, and rewarding work environment for our employees with opportunities for professional growth and long-term financial stability.

Headcount

On December 31, 2021, we had 9,813 employees. These employees were located in the following countries:

Country						Number of Employees
U.S.						8,172
Canada						647
U.K. and Ireland						835
Mexico and Peru						159
Total						9,813

Of our total employees as of December 31, 2021, 1,764 were covered by collective bargaining or similar agreements, and 9,794 were in permanent full-time positions. See also “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS—General Risk Factors*—Our business may be negatively affected by work stoppages, slowdowns, or strikes by our employees, as well as new labor legislation issued by regulators*.”

Company Culture and Human Capital (People) Strategy

Our company culture and our well-defined expectations of ethics and behavior guide the daily work of our employees and support our efforts to produce exceptional company results. The six values that define our culture are Safety, Accountability, Teamwork, Excellence, Do the Right Thing, and Caring.

Our people strategy and programs are designed and implemented in support of our business and strategic objectives. In building and fostering great teams, we are guided by the following:

• We strive to hire and promote top-talent employees with team-oriented work ethics and values;

• Our pay, benefits, and support programs are designed to attract and retain excellent employees and to reward innovation, ingenuity, and excellence;

• We seek to provide a best-in-class, diverse, and inclusive work environment built on a foundation of respect, accountability, and trust;

• We promote a culture of learning intended to drive excellence at all levels of the organization and to foster career-long growth and development opportunities for employees; and

• We continually assess employee performance, organizational structures, and succession plans to support operational excellence, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion

We believe that having a diverse workforce and inclusive teams provides strengths and advantages for our success, and our board of directors (Board) and management team strive to promote and improve

diversity, equality, and inclusion. Of our total employees as of December 31, 2021, approximately 30 percent of our global professional employees were female, 11 percent of our hourly employees were female, and 19 percent of total employees were female. Approximately 36 percent of our U.S. employees have self-identified as Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or as two or more races. We strive to recruit and retain a diverse workforce and foster a culture of inclusion through various efforts, including targeted recruiting strategies aimed at improving our outreach to underrepresented groups and educational and training programs on diversity-related topics, such as objective hiring and the advantages of a diverse workforce. We are also committed to hiring and retaining veterans and reservists of the U.S. armed forces, who represent 12 percent of our U.S. workforce as of December 31, 2021.

From our intern program to our Board, and at all levels between, we strive to build diverse and inclusive teams. Our intern program class of 2021 was the most diverse in the history of our program, with 39 percent being female and 34 percent representing a racial or ethnic minority, and more than half of the independent members of our Board represent diversity of gender or race/ethnicity. In furtherance of the Board’s diversity goals, the charter for the Nominating/Governance and Public Policy Committee of the Board was amended in 2021 to require that the initial list of candidates from which director nominees are chosen include, but need not be limited to, qualified diverse candidates (known as a “Rooney Rule” amendment).

Safety

We believe that safety and reliability are extremely important, not only for the protection of our employees and to the cultural values we aspire to as a company, but also for operational success, as a decrease in the number of employee safety events and process safety events should generally reduce unplanned shutdowns and increase the operational reliability of our refineries and plants. This, in turn, should also translate into fewer environmental incidents, a safer workplace, lower environmental impacts, and better community relations. We strive to improve safety and reliability by offering year-round safety training programs for our employees and contractors and by seeking to promote the same expectations and culture of safety among all of our workforce. We also seek to enhance our safety compliance by conducting safety audits, quality assurance visits, and comprehensive risk assessments.

In assessing safety performance, we measure our annual total recordable incident rate (TRIR), which includes data with respect to our employees and contractors and is defined as the number of recordable injuries per 200,000 working hours. We also annually measure our Tier 1 Process Safety Event Rate, which is a metric defined by the American Petroleum Institute that looks at process safety events per 200,000 total employee and contractor working hours. We use these measures and believe they are helpful in assessing our safety performance because they evaluate performance relative to the numbers of hours being worked. These metrics are also used by others in our industry, which allows for a more objective comparison of our performance. Our refinery employee and contractor TRIR for 2021 was 0.21 and 0.26, respectively, and our refinery Tier 1 Process Safety Event Rate for 2021 was 0.05. As a result, 2021 was our best year so far in terms of safety performance.

Compensation and Benefits

We believe that it is important to provide our employees with competitive compensation and benefits. The benefits we offer to employees, depending on work location and eligibility status, include, among others, healthcare plans that are generally available to all employees, extended sick leave, new-parent leave, access to financial planning, programs to support dual-working parents at different stages of their careers, caregiver support networks (including an on-site child care center at our headquarters) and support for children and parents with disabilities, a company 401(k) matching program, various company-sponsored

pension plans, on-site employee wellness centers (also available to eligible dependents at our headquarters), tuition reimbursement programs, fitness center access or a stipend, and employee recognition programs.

We believe that it is important to reward employee performance and have an annual bonus program that rewards achievements of various operational, financial, and strategic objectives. While such objectives include typical financial performance metrics, we believe ESG performance is also important and our annual bonus program rewards achievements in areas such as sustainability, diversity and inclusion, compliance, and corporate citizenship.

Our compensation programs are designed with consideration of fair treatment and equal pay concepts, and are built upon a foundational philosophy of market-competitive and performance-based pay.

Pay equity of our U.S. professional workforce is analyzed biennially by an independent consultant retained by us. Our most recent pay equity analysis, which was performed in 2020, reported that we had a gender pay equity ratio of 99 percent and a minority/nonminority pay equity ratio of 100 percent when considering factors that appropriately differentiate pay, such as time in role and pay grade.

Training and Development

We offer a comprehensive training and development program for our employees in subjects such as engineering and technical excellence, safety, maintenance and machinery/equipment repair, ethics, leadership, and employee performance. Our employee development initiatives include customized professional and technical curriculums, efforts to engage our leadership in the employee’s development process, and providing employee performance discussions. We offer a robust virtual training curriculum, which allows for greater availability and access for employees located across our many facilities and enables just-in-time training.

Wellness

We strive to promote the health and well-being of our employees and their families. Our Total Wellness Program serves as the umbrella program for all aspects of employee wellness and is the program through which many of the benefits referenced above are provided. The heart of our Total Wellness Program is the annual wellness assessment, which is intended to provide a detailed picture of an employee’s current health that may educate and inform health decisions by highlighting risk factors and providing information that can help save lives. Under our Total Wellness Program, educational sessions are also scheduled throughout the year on a variety of topics on health and finances. Our Total Wellness Program also supports the financial wellness of our employees through our financial benefit programs, depending on eligibility status and work location.

We also offer a wide range of support to our employees through our confidential employee assistance program, helping employees and their families manage relationship challenges, counseling needs, and substance abuse and recovery, as well as self-care programs for various behavioral health challenges.

PROPERTIES

Our principal properties are described in “OUR OPERATIONS” above and that information is incorporated by reference into this item. We believe that our properties are generally adequate for our operations and that our refineries and plants are maintained in a good state of repair. As of December 31, 2021, we were the lessee under a number of cancelable and noncancelable leases for certain properties. Our leases are discussed in Note 6 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is incorporated by reference into this item. Financial information about our properties is presented in Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is incorporated by reference into this item.

Our patents relating to our refining operations are not material to us as a whole. The trademarks and tradenames under which we conduct our branded wholesale business — Valero®, Diamond Shamrock®, Shamrock®, Ultramar®, Beacon®, and Texaco®— and other trademarks employed in the marketing of refined petroleum products are integral to our wholesale rack marketing operations. The trademark and tradename under which DGD sells its renewable diesel — Diamond Green Diesel® — is integral to the sales of our Renewable Diesel segment.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

Our website address is www.valero.com. Information (including any presentation or report) on our website is not part of, and is not incorporated into, this report or any other report we may file with or furnish to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whether made before or after the date of this annual report on Form 10-K and irrespective of any general incorporation language therein. Furthermore, references to our website URLs are intended to be inactive textual references only. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and other reports, as well as any amendments to those reports, filed with or furnished to the SEC are available on our website (under Investors > Financials > SEC Filings) free of charge, soon after we file or furnish such material.

Additionally, on our website (under Investors > ESG), we post our corporate governance guidelines and other governance policies, codes of ethics, and the charters of the committees of our Board. In this same location, we also publish our 2021 Stewardship and Responsibility Report, which includes our 2021 SASB Report, our report disclosing certain U.S. workforce diversity statistics and data that corresponds to our 2020 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Information (EEO-1) Report (filed in 2021), our 2025 and 2035 GHG emissions reductions and offset targets and other disclosures, and our 2021 TCFD Report and Scenario Analysis. These documents are available in print to any stockholder that makes a written request to Valero Energy Corporation, Attn: Secretary, P.O. Box 696000, San Antonio, Texas 78269-6000. Our ESG Overview is also available on our website (under Responsibility > ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance) and disclosures concerning our political engagement, climate lobbying, and trade associations are available on our website (under Investors > ESG). These reports and disclosures are not a part of this annual report on Form 10-K, are not deemed filed with the SEC, and are not to be incorporated by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, whether made before or after the date of this annual report on Form 10-K and irrespective of any general incorporation language therein. Furthermore, references to our website URLs are intended to be inactive textual references only.