Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Investor and Analyst Contact:		Media Contact:
Jeffrey S. Beyersdorfer		Gary Hanson
(915) 534-1400		(915) 534-1400

WESTERN REFINING RECORDS PROFITABLE 2011 FIRST QUARTER

EL PASO, Texas — May 5, 2011 — Western Refining, Inc. (NYSE:WNR) today reported net earnings, excluding special items, of $15.2 million, or $0.17 per diluted share for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011. On a GAAP basis, the Company reported first quarter 2011 net earnings of $12.2 million, or $0.13 per diluted share. These results compare to a first quarter 2010 net loss of $30.7 million or $0.35 per diluted share. A reconciliation of net income (loss) to net income (loss) excluding special items, for all periods shown, is included in the accompanying financial tables.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $95.8 million compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $26.2 million for the first quarter of 2010. The improved results for the quarter, compared to the same period in 2010, were primarily due to much stronger refining margins. The higher margins were the result of improved market conditions and the continued price advantage of WTI crude oil as compared to Brent crude oil. The strong results were partially offset by approximately 30 days of planned and unplanned downtime at the El Paso refinery during January and February.

Jeff Stevens, Western’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased with our first quarter results and the positive momentum that we continue to achieve, despite the unplanned, weather-related outage at the El Paso refinery in February. Our operational improvements over the last year and strong refining margins for inland refineries contributed to our solid earnings growth in the quarter.”

During the quarter, the Company made continued progress on strengthening its balance sheet. The Company refinanced its term loan credit agreement which resulted in a reduction of its annualized cash interest expense by approximately $9.5 million, an extension of the loan’s maturity from 2014 to 2017, and the elimination of all financial maintenance covenants.

Commenting on the second quarter, Stevens said, “We are very encouraged by the strong market conditions. Our refineries are running well and we believe Western is well positioned to capitalize on this on-going strong margin environment.”

Conference Call Information

A conference call is scheduled for May 5, 2011, at 10:00 am ET to discuss Western’s financial results. The call can be accessed at Western’s website, www.wnr.com. The call can also be heard by dialing (866) 566-8590, passcode: 55481727. The audio replay will be available through May 12, 2011, and can be accessed by dialing (800) 642-1687, passcode: 55481727.

A copy of this press release, together with the reconciliations of certain non-GAAP financial measures contained herein, can be accessed on the investor relations menu on Western’s website, www.wnr.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In a number of places in the press release and related tables, we have excluded the impact of the non-cash loss on extinguishment of debt from our results of operations for the first quarter of 2011. We have excluded these amounts to better analyze changes in our business from period-to-period as this is a non-recurring charge.

About Western Refining

Western Refining, Inc. is an independent refining and marketing company headquartered in El Paso, Texas. Western operates refineries in El Paso, and Gallup, New Mexico. Western’s asset portfolio also includes refined products terminals in Albuquerque and Bloomfield, New Mexico and Yorktown, Virginia; asphalt terminals in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Albuquerque, and El Paso; retail service stations and convenience stores in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico; a fleet of crude oil and finished product truck transports; and wholesale petroleum products operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah. More information about the Company is available at www.wnr.com.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein include statements about the Company’s positive momentum, the strong margin environment, the Company’s actions to strengthen its balance sheet, and the Company’s positioning in the current margin environment. These statements are subject to the general risks inherent in our business. These expectations may or may not be realized. Some of these expectations may be based upon assumptions or judgments that prove to be incorrect. In addition, Western’s business and operations involve numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Western’s control, which could result in Western’s expectations not being realized or otherwise materially affect Western’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Additional information relating to the uncertainties affecting Western’s business is contained in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements are only as of the date made, and Western does not undertake any obligation to (and expressly disclaims any obligation to) update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date such statements were made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Consolidated Financial Data

The following tables set forth our summary of historical financial and operating data for the periods indicated below:

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
		(In thousands, except per share data)
Statement of Operations Data:
Net sales (1)		$	1,839,588			$	1,915,395
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) (1)			1,612,727				1,765,461
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) (1)			111,007				106,980
Selling, general, and administrative expenses			20,397				16,430
Maintenance turnaround expense			—				23,286
Depreciation and amortization			35,371				34,282
Total operating costs and expenses			1,779,502				1,946,439
Other income (expense):
Operating income (loss)			60,086				(31,044	)
Interest income			92				30
Interest expense			(34,492	)			(36,774	)
Amortization of loan fees			(2,335	)			(2,414	)
Gain (loss) from extinguishment of debt			(4,641	)			—
Other income (expense), net			288				(365	)
Income (loss) before income taxes			18,998				(70,567	)
Provision for income taxes			(6,773	)			39,878
Net income (loss)		$	12,225			$	(30,689	)
Basic earnings per share		$	0.13			$	(0.35	)
Diluted earnings per share		$	0.13			$	(0.35	)
Dividends declared per common share		$	—			$	—
Weighted average basic shares outstanding			88,367				88,006
Weighted average dilutive shares outstanding			88,367				88,006
Cash Flow Data:
Net cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities		$	(21,041	)		$	(147,572	)
Investing activities			828				(18,738	)
Financing activities			(27,766	)			116,750
Other Data:
Adjusted EBITDA (2)		$	95,837			$	26,189
Capital expenditures			10,779				18,843
Balance Sheet Data (at end of period):
Cash and cash equivalents		$	11,933			$	25,330
Working capital			365,577				249,361
Total assets			2,681,777				2,857,325
Total debt			1,053,880				1,237,308
Stockholders’ equity			693,123				658,385

	•		Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:
	•		Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our cash expenditures or future requirements for significant turnaround activities, capital expenditures, or contractual commitments;
	•		Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the interest expense or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on our debt;
	•		Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs; and
	•		our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the Adjusted EBITDA calculations of other companies in our industry, thereby limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered a measure of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. The following table reconciles net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented:

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
		(In thousands, except per share data)
Net income (loss)		$	12,225			$	(30,689	)
Interest expense			34,492				36,774
Provision for income taxes			6,773				(39,878	)
Amortization of loan fees			2,335				2,414
Loss on extinguishment of debt			4,641				—
Depreciation and amortization			35,371				34,282
Maintenance turnaround expense			—				23,286
Adjusted EBITDA		$	95,837			$	26,189

Refining Segment

The following tables present the segment financial data for our refining group, including other revenues and expenses not specific to a particular refinery:

All Refineries

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
		(In thousands, except per barrel data)
Statement of Operations Data:
Net sales (including intersegment sales)		$	1,710,717			$	1,917,958
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) (1)			1,538,166				1,807,155
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)			81,137				82,103
Selling, general, and administrative expenses			2,572				3,081
Maintenance turnaround expense			—				23,286
Depreciation and amortization			31,052				29,276
Total operating costs and expenses			1,652,927				1,944,901
Operating income (loss)		$	57,790			$	(26,943	)
Key Operating Statistics:
Total sales volume (bpd) (1)			164,270				249,623
Total refinery production (bpd)			119,504				192,502
Total refinery throughput (bpd) (2)			121,549				192,974
Per barrel of throughput:
Refinery gross margin (1) (3)		$	15.77			$	6.38
Gross profit (3)			12.93				4.69
Direct operating expenses (4)			7.42				4.73

Southwest Refineries (El Paso and Gallup)

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
		(In thousands, except per barrel data)
Statement of Operations Data:
Net sales (including intersegment sales)		$	1,709,381			$	1,427,960
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) (1)			1,536,603				1,332,599
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)			69,912				57,073
Selling, general, and administrative expenses			2,572				3,081
Maintenance turnaround expense			—				23,286
Depreciation and amortization			17,705				17,864
Total operating costs and expenses			1,626,792				1,433,903
Operating income (loss)		$	82,589			$	(5,943	)
Key Operating Statistics:
Total sales volume (bpd) (1)			164,270				179,232
Total refinery production (bpd)			119,504				129,710
Total refinery throughput (bpd) (2)			121,549				131,687
Per barrel of throughput:
Refinery gross margin (1) (3)		$	15.79			$	8.05
Gross profit (3)			14.18				6.54
Direct operating expenses (4)			6.39				4.82

The following tables set forth our summary refining throughput and production data for the periods presented below:

All Refineries

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
Refinery product yields (bpd)
Gasoline			66,639				101,548
Diesel and jet fuel			46,294				73,061
Residuum			3,553				4,024
Other			3,018				8,167
Liquid products			119,504				186,800
By-products (coke)			—				5,702
Total			119,504				192,502
Refinery throughput (bpd)
Sweet crude oil			93,992				126,234
Sour or heavy crude oil			16,413				50,325
Other feedstocks/blendstocks			11,144				16,415
Total			121,549				192,974

Southwest Refineries (El Paso and Gallup)

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011 (5)				2010
Refinery product yields (bpd)
Gasoline			66,639				72,189
Diesel and jet fuel			46,294				49,874
Residuum			3,553				4,024
Other			3,018				3,623
Total			119,504				129,710
Refinery throughput (bpd)
Sweet crude oil			93,992				113,417
Sour or heavy crude oil			16,413				9,628
Other feedstocks/blendstocks			11,144				8,642
Total			121,549				131,687

El Paso Refinery

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
Key Operating Statistics:
Refinery product yields (bpd)
Gasoline			49,884				57,732
Diesel and jet fuel			39,544				44,624
Residuum			3,553				4,024
Other			2,186				2,801
Total refinery production (bpd)			95,167				109,181
Refinery throughput (bpd)
Sweet crude oil			72,023				94,210
Sour crude oil			16,413				9,628
Other feedstocks/blendstocks			8,220				6,783
Total refinery throughput (bpd)			96,656				110,621
Total sales volume (bpd) (1)			131,444				147,171
Per barrel of throughput:
Refinery gross margin (1) (3)		$	18.70			$	6.91
Direct operating expenses (4)			5.91				3.77

Gallup Refinery

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
Key Operating Statistics:
Refinery product yields (bpd)
Gasoline			16,755				14,457
Diesel and jet fuel			6,750				5,250
Other			832				822
Total refinery production (bpd)			24,337				20,529
Refinery throughput (bpd)
Sweet crude oil			21,969				19,207
Other feedstocks/blendstocks			2,924				1,859
Total refinery throughput (bpd)			24,893				21,066
Total sales volume (bpd) (1)			32,826				32,061
Per barrel of throughput:
Refinery gross margin (1) (3)		$	19.70			$	15.27
Direct operating expenses (4)			6.70				7.54

Yorktown Refinery

		Three Months Ended
		March 31, 2010
Key Operating Statistics:
Refinery product yields (bpd)
Gasoline			29,359
Diesel and jet fuel			23,187
Other			4,544
Liquid products			57,090
By-products (coke)			5,702
Total refinery production (bpd)			62,792
Refinery throughput (bpd)
Sweet crude oil			12,817
Heavy crude oil			40,697
Other feedstocks/blendstocks			7,773
Total refinery throughput (bpd)			61,287
Total sales volume (bpd) (1)			70,391
Per barrel of throughput:
Refinery gross margin (1) (3)		$	2.80
Direct operating expenses (4)			4.54

The following table reconciles combined gross profit for all refineries to combined gross margin for all refineries for the periods presented:

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
Net sales (including intersegment sales)		$	1,710,717			$	1,917,958
Cost of products sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)			1,538,166				1,807,155
Depreciation and amortization			31,052				29,276
Gross profit			141,499				81,527
Plus depreciation and amortization			31,052				29,276
Refinery gross margin		$	172,551			$	110,803
Refinery gross margin per refinery throughput barrel		$	15.77			$	6.38
Gross profit per refinery throughput barrel		$	12.93			$	4.69

The following table reconciles gross profit for our Southwest refineries to gross margin for our Southwest refineries for the periods presented:

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
Net sales (including intersegment sales)		$	1,709,381			$	1,427,960
Cost of products sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)			1,536,603				1,332,599
Depreciation and amortization			17,705				17,864
Gross profit			155,073				77,497
Plus depreciation and amortization			17,705				17,864
Refinery gross margin		$	172,778			$	95,361
Refinery gross margin per refinery throughput barrel		$	15.79			$	8.05
Gross profit per refinery throughput barrel		$	14.18			$	6.54

Wholesale Segment

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011 (3)				2010
		(In thousands, except per gallon data)
Statement of Operations Data:
Net sales (including intersegment sales)		$	1,046,021			$	513,838
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)			1,010,150				493,890
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)			15,770				9,961
Selling, general, and administrative expenses			2,046				1,939
Depreciation and amortization			1,136				1,385
Total operating costs and expenses			1,029,102				507,175
Operating income		$	16,919			$	6,663
Operating Data:
Fuel gallons sold (in thousands)			360,094				217,739
Fuel margin per gallon (1)		$	0.09			$	0.07
Lubricant sales		$	26,176			$	23,392
Lubricant margins (2)			12.2	%			8.4	%

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011 (3)				2010
		(In thousands, except per gallon data)
Net sales:
Fuel sales		$	1,103,362			$	540,591
Excise taxes included in fuel sales			(91,551	)			(57,407	)
Lubricant sales			26,176				23,392
Other sales			8,034				7,262
Net sales		$	1,046,021			$	513,838
Cost of products sold:
Fuel cost of products sold		$	1,075,127			$	526,236
Excise taxes included in fuel cost of products sold			(91,551	)			(57,407	)
Lubricant cost of products sold			22,976				21,430
Other cost of products sold			3,598				3,631
Cost of products sold		$	1,010,150			$	493,890
Fuel margin per gallon		$	0.09			$	0.07

Retail Segment

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
		(In thousands, except per gallon data)
Statement of Operations Data:
Net sales (including intersegment sales)		$	183,743			$	158,580
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)			163,053				138,147
Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)			16,351				16,166
Selling, general, and administrative expenses			1,126				702
Depreciation and amortization			2,436				2,406
Total operating costs and expenses			182,966				157,421
Operating income		$	777			$	1,159
Operating Data:
Fuel gallons sold (in thousands)			46,275				46,364
Fuel margin per gallon (1)		$	0.15			$	0.15
Merchandise sales		$	43,646			$	42,751
Merchandise margin (2)			28.3	%			27.9	%
Operating retail outlets at period end			150				150

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
		(In thousands, except per gallon data)
Net sales:
Fuel sales		$	151,706			$	127,297
Excise taxes included in fuel revenues			(17,929	)			(17,481	)
Merchandise sales			43,646				42,751
Other sales			6,320				6,013
Net sales		$	183,743			$	158,580
Cost of products sold:
Fuel cost of products sold			144,752				120,141
Excise taxes included in fuel cost of products sold			(17,929	)			(17,481	)
Merchandise cost of products sold			31,308				30,837
Other cost of products sold			4,922				4,650
Cost of products sold		$	163,053			$	138,147
Fuel margin per gallon (1)		$	0.15			$	0.15

Reconciliation of Special Items

We present below certain additional financial measures that are non-GAAP measures within the meaning of Regulation G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

We present these non-GAAP measures to provide investors with additional information to analyze our performance from period to period. We believe it is useful for investors to understand our financial performance excluding these special items so that investors can see the operating trends underlying our business. Investors should not consider these non-GAAP measures in isolation from, or as a substitute for, the financial information that we report in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures reflect subjective determinations by management, and may differ from similarly titled non-GAAP measures presented by other companies.

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2011				2010
		(In thousands, except per share data)
Reported earnings (losses) per share		$	0.13			$	(0.35	)
Earnings (loss) before income taxes		$	18,998			$	(70,567	)
Loss on extinguishment of debt			4,641				—
Earnings (loss) before income taxes excluding special items			23,639				(70,567	)
Recomputed income taxes after special items			(8,428	)			39,878
Net income (loss) excluding special items		$	15,211			$	(30,689	)
Diluted earnings (loss) per share excluding special items		$	0.17			$	(0.35	)