Valero Energy Corp. announced they were placing the construction of a 45,000 barrel-per-day coker expansion project at the Port Arthur Refinery indefinitely and delay improvement projects at othe sites due to cost and economic uncertainty. The refinery will continue, however, with their 50,000 barrel-per-day hydrocracker.

A company press release read Valero was scaling back spending by 33 percent this year and cutting its 2009 budget.

"You can expect us to maintain our balanced approach by investing in growth projects, paying off debt, buying back stock and increasing dividends, but clearly we intend to hold much more cash than in the past," Bill Klesse, Valero chairman and chief executive said.

Valero held a groundbreaking this summer for the $2.4 billion project that would hire 2,000 construction workers at its peak. The project's cost will be scaled down to $1.6 billion to build the hydrocracker.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Port Arthur News, Texas. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.