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Storm Threatens Texas Refineries
1 Sep
Summary
- Motiva and Exxon Mobil refineries preparing for storm.
- Tropical Storm Edouard expected to make landfall Tuesday.
- Refineries securing equipment against high winds and flooding.
Energy companies along the U.S. Gulf Coast are preparing their facilities as a developing tropical storm nears.
Motiva Enterprises and Exxon Mobil Corp are readying their East Texas refineries for high winds and possible flooding. As of Monday, production had not been reduced, but steps were being taken to secure loose equipment against the storm's expected arrival.
Exxon Mobil stated its Beaumont and Baytown refineries were operating normally while the company monitored the storm. Cheniere Energy and Freeport LNG also confirmed they were monitoring the situation and would adjust operations if needed, with no production impacts reported.
The storm, currently Tropical Depression 5, is forecast by the U.S. National Hurricane Center to become Tropical Storm Edouard before making landfall near Port Arthur on Tuesday. It is not anticipated to reach hurricane strength, with winds projected to be no more than 58 miles per hour.
Exxon Mobil activated its Incident Command System on Monday afternoon. Valero Energy Corp's Port Arthur refinery has also not modified its operations. Motiva's Port Arthur refinery has a crude oil processing capacity of 656,400 bpd, making it the nation's largest.
