Valero's margins are being supported by growing production volumes in the Eagle Ford Shale. As the company upgrades its facilities to handle more Eagle Ford Shale Crude, expect these margins to grow. The light crude and condensate from the Eagle Ford is easier for refineries to handle. Eagle Ford is a more profitable option than heavy crude from South America. 

Stronger demand for its fuels and Valero Energy Corp.'s ability to purchase some crudes at a discount helped the San Antonio-based refiner post a 28 percent jump in net income in the second quarter.

Valero's net income rose to $744 million, or $1.30 a share, compared with $583 million, or $1.03 a share, for the same period in 2010.

At Three Rivers, the company is spending about $10 million to enable the plant to process more crude oil from the Eagle Ford shale of South Texas. By year's end, the 100,000-barrel-a-day plant is likely to process 60,000 barrels a day of Eagle Ford crude, said Lane Riggs, senior vice president of refining operations.

Read the full news release at mysanantonio.com