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* Facility could unload up to 60,000 bpd of N.American crude
* Rail would help company replace more expensive imports (Adds detail about crude by rail in California; adds commentfrom company and agency; adds byline)
By Kristen Hays
HOUSTON, June 3 (Reuters) - Valero Energy Corp plansto build a rail offloading facility that could take up to 60,000barrels per day of cheap North American crude to replace priceyimports at its Los Angeles-area refinery, the company said onMonday.
Valero said it had applied for a building permit from theSouth Coast Air Quality Management District, the pollutionregulator for Los Angeles-area refineries.
The agency said it would take about 18 months to finish anenvironmental review, permitting and construction at the 78,000bpd refinery in Wilmington, California.
West Coast refiners are increasingly trying to tap cheaperinland U.S. and Canadian crude as peers in other regions alreadyhave. California is more isolated from prolific fields in Texas,North Dakota and Canada by lack of infrastructure and the RockyMountains, but companies are turning to rail or a combination ofrail and barge to capture cost advantages of cheaper crude.
Valero previously applied for a permit to build a similarfacility to take up to 70,000 bpd at its 132,000 bpd SanFrancisco-area refinery in Benicia, California.
Valero spokesman Bill Day said the company wants to increaserail shipments of North American crude to its Californiarefineries, which is cheaper than foreign imports or Alaskancrude. If approved, the facilities would offload both Canadianheavy and inland U.S. crude.
Last year Alon Energy USA shut its 94,000 bpdSouthern California refining system because it was losing moneyon a combination of expensive imported crude and low asphaltdemand. Alon hopes to get permits by the end of 2013 to build arail offloading facility to tap cheaper North American crude.
Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the South Coast Air QualityManagement District, said the agency had also met with Phillips66 officials to discuss a minor modification to the railunloading facility at the company's 139,000 bpd Wilmington,California, refinery.
Besides the Valero and Alon applications, the agency has notreceived any proposals "from any other refinery for rail carunloading," Atwood said.
Other refineries in the area include Chevron Corp's 276,000 bpd plant in El Segundo, California; Exxon Mobil Corp's 149,500 bpd Torrance plant; and Tesoro Corp's newly acquired 266,000 bpd Carson refinery and its 103,800 bpdWilmington plant. BP Plc sold the Carson refinery andother assets to Tesoro for $2.5 billion.
(Reporting By Kristen Hays; editing by John Wallace)
