Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements, Statement of Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net income	$ 639	$ 874	$ 1,454	$ 2,331
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustment	(180)	23	(25)	(223)
Net gain on pension and other postretirement benefits	3	8	8	25
Net gain (loss) on cash flow hedges	(4)		1
Other comprehensive income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)	(181)	31	(16)	(198)
Income tax expense (benefit) related to items of other comprehensive income (loss)	0	1	2	5
Other comprehensive income (loss)	(181)	30	(18)	(203)
Comprehensive income	458	904	1,436	2,128
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	28	21	96	162
Comprehensive income attributable to Valero Energy Corporation stockholders	430	883	1,340	1,966
Eliminations [Member]
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net income	(952)	(1,143)	(2,323)	(3,027)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustment	163	1	62	191
Net gain on pension and other postretirement benefits	0	0	0	(1)
Net gain (loss) on cash flow hedges	2		0
Other comprehensive income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)	165	1	62	190
Income tax expense (benefit) related to items of other comprehensive income (loss)	1	0	0	0
Other comprehensive income (loss)	164	1	62	190
Comprehensive income	(788)	(1,142)	(2,261)	(2,837)
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	17	2	48
Comprehensive income attributable to Valero Energy Corporation stockholders	(788)	(1,159)	(2,263)	(2,885)
Valero Energy Corporation [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member]
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net income	609	856	1,362	2,170
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustment	(180)	20	(28)	(224)
Net gain on pension and other postretirement benefits	3	8	8	25
Net gain (loss) on cash flow hedges	(2)		0
Other comprehensive income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)	(179)	28	(20)	(199)
Income tax expense (benefit) related to items of other comprehensive income (loss)	0	1	2	5
Other comprehensive income (loss)	(179)	27	(22)	(204)
Comprehensive income	430	883	1,340	1,966
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Valero Energy Corporation stockholders	430	883	1,340	1,966
Valero Energy Partners LP [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member]
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net income	100	70	263	200
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustment	0	0	0	0
Net gain on pension and other postretirement benefits	0	0	0	0
Net gain (loss) on cash flow hedges	0		0
Other comprehensive income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)	0	0	0	0
Income tax expense (benefit) related to items of other comprehensive income (loss)	0	0	0	0
Other comprehensive income (loss)	0	0	0	0
Comprehensive income	100	70	263	200
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Valero Energy Corporation stockholders	100	70	263	200
Other Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member]
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net income	882	1,091	2,152	2,988
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustment	(163)	2	(59)	(190)
Net gain on pension and other postretirement benefits	0	0	0	1
Net gain (loss) on cash flow hedges	(4)		1
Other comprehensive income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)	(167)	2	(58)	(189)
Income tax expense (benefit) related to items of other comprehensive income (loss)	(1)	0	0	0
Other comprehensive income (loss)	(166)	2	(58)	(189)
Comprehensive income	716	1,093	2,094	2,799
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	28	4	94	114
Comprehensive income attributable to Valero Energy Corporation stockholders	$ 688	$ 1,089	$ 2,000	$ 2,685