ExxonMobil restarts activities at Baytown refinery; production units at Beaumont refinery remain shut

ExxonMobil said facility assessments and restart activities are continuing at its Baytown, Texas, refinery in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Harvey, the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. state of Texas in half a century. Floodwaters closed oil refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast last week.

ExxonMobil also said that it has made significant progress in restarting chemical production, pipelines and other logistical infrastructure in the Houston area.

ExxonMobil said that the company’s fuel terminals in Houston are open and supplying gasoline and diesel fuel to customers.

Offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico are beginning to return to normal operations.

However, production units at the Beaumont refinery remain shut down due to flooding in the lower level of the refinery.

Efforts are underway to transport refined products from unaffected regions to communities and customers in the most severely impacted areas.

The company is also delaying scheduled maintenance at other ExxonMobil refineries to continue producing gasoline and diesel fuel to relieve the supply situation. Personnel from the Baton Rouge, Billings and Joliet refineries are being deployed to Baytown and Beaumont to help restore operations.

The company has allocated supplies of fuel for use by emergency responders, and has thus far provided nearly 650,000 gallons to responders working in areas impacted by the storm, including Beaumont, Baytown and the greater Houston area, as well as Dallas and Baton Rouge.

“Our teams have been working around the clock to restore operations as quickly and safely as possible so we can supply fuels to our customers,” said Darren W. Woods, chairman and chief executive officer. “The incredible efforts our employees have put behind maintaining critical operations under challenging conditions has been remarkable.”

ExxonMobil has also been assessing impacts on its onshore and offshore oil and gas production assets. Galveston 209 offshore platform systems are safe and operational, and startup operations are underway. The Hadrian South subsea production system in the Gulf of Mexico has been deemed safe and operational, and production has resumed. Crews from ExxonMobil subsidiary, XTO Energy, have begun assessments and are bringing onshore wells on line when safe to do so.