Homer Bhullar
Vice President-Investor Relations And Finance at Valero Energy
Thanks, Joe. For the first quarter of 2022, net income attributable to Valero stockholders was $905 million or $2.21 per share compared to a net loss of $704 million or $1.73 per share for the first quarter of 2021. First quarter 2022 adjusted net income attributable to Valero stockholders was $944 million or $2.31 per share compared to an adjusted net loss of $666 million or $1.64 per share for the first quarter of 2021. For reconciliations to adjusted amounts, please refer to the financial tables that accompany the earnings release. The Refining segment reported $1.45 billion of operating income for the first quarter of 2022 compared to $592 million operating loss of the first quarter of 2021. First quarter 2022 adjusted operating income was $1.47 billion compared to an adjusted operating loss of $506 million for the first quarter of 2021.
Refining throughput volumes in the first quarter of 2022 averaged 2.8 million barrels per day, which was 390,000 barrels per day higher than the first quarter of 2021. Throughput capacity utilization was 89% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 77% in the first quarter of 2021. Refining cash operating expenses of $4.73 per barrel in the first quarter of 2022 were $2.05 per barrel lower than the first quarter of 2021, which were impacted by excess energy costs related to Winter Storm, Uri. The Renewable Diesel segment operating income was $149 million for the first quarter of 2022 compared to $203 million for the first quarter of 2021. Renewable diesel sales volumes averaged 1.7 million gallons per day in the first quarter of 2022, which was 871,000 gallons per day higher than the first quarter of 2021. The higher sales volumes were attributed to the fourth quarter 2021 start-up of the Diamond Green Diesel expansion project or DGD 2.
The Ethanol segment reported $1 million of operating income for the first quarter of 2022 compared to a $56 million operating loss for the first quarter of 2021. Ethanol production volumes averaged four million gallons per day in the first quarter of 2022, which was 483,000 gallons per day higher than the first quarter of 2021. For the first quarter of 2022, G&A expenses were $205 million and net interest expense was $145 million. Depreciation and amortization expense was $606 million, and the income tax expense was $252 million for the first quarter of 2022. The effective tax rate was 21%. Net cash provided by operating activities was $588 million in the first quarter of 2022. Excluding the unfavorable impact from the change in working capital of $722 million and the other joint venture members, 50% share of Diamond Green Diesel's net cash provided by operating activities. Excluding changes in DGD's working capital, adjusted net cash provided by operating activities was $1.2 billion.
With regard to investing activities. We made $843 million of capital investments in the first quarter of 2022 of which $536 million was for sustaining the business, including costs for turnarounds, catalysts and regulatory compliance and $307 million was for growing the business. Excluding capital investments attributable to the other joint venture members, 50% share of Diamond Green Diesel and those related to other variable interest entities, capital investments attributable to Valero were $718 million in the first quarter of 2022. Moving to financing activities. We returned $545 million to our stockholders in the first quarter of 2022, with $401 million paid as dividends and $144 million of stock buybacks, resulting in a payout ratio of 44% of adjusted net cash provided by operating activities for the quarter. With respect to our balance sheet. We completed debt reduction and refinancing transactions in the first quarter that reduced Valero's long-term debt by $750 million.
As Joe already noted, these debt reduction and refinancing transactions, combined with the debt reduction and refinancing transactions completed in the third and fourth quarters of 2021, have reduced Valero's long-term debt by $2 billion. At quarter end, total debt and finance lease obligations were $13.2 billion and cash and cash equivalents were $2.6 billion. The debt-to-capitalization ratio, net of cash and cash equivalents was 34%. And we ended the quarter well-capitalized with $4.9 billion of available liquidity, excluding cash. Turning to guidance. We still expect capital investments attributable to Valero for 2022 to be approximately $2 billion, which includes expenditures for turnarounds, catalysts and joint venture investments. About 60% of that amount is allocated to sustaining the business and 40% to growth. About half of the growth capital in 2022 is allocated to expanding our low-carbon businesses. For modeling our second quarter operations, we expect refining throughput volumes to fall within the following ranges: Gulf Coast at 1.64 million to 1.69 million barrels per day; Mid-Continent at 395,000 to 415,000 barrels per day; West Coast at 225,000 to 245,000 barrels per day; and North Atlantic at 445,000 to 465,000 barrels per day.
We expect refining cash operating expenses in the second quarter to be approximately $5.15 per barrel, which are higher than last quarter primarily due to higher natural gas prices. With respect to the Renewable Diesel segment. We now expect sales volumes to be approximately 750 million gallons in 2022 with the anticipated start-up of DGD three in the fourth quarter. Operating expenses in 2022 should still be $0.45 per gallon, which includes $0.15 per gallon for noncash costs such as depreciation and amortization. Our Ethanol segment is expected to produce four million gallons per day in the second quarter. Operating expenses should average $0.48 per gallon, which includes $0.05 per gallon for noncash costs such as depreciation and amortization. For the second quarter, net interest expense should be about $140 million and total depreciation and amortization expense should be approximately $630 million. For 2022, we expect G&A expenses, excluding corporate depreciation, to be approximately $870 million.
That concludes our opening remarks. [Operator Instructions]