Posted on 03/27/2014 4:57:31 AM PDT by thackney
Exxon Mobil Corp. said Wednesday its major refinery in Baytown now can increase output of refined fuels again after closure of the Houston Ship Channel blocked waterborne oil supplies for three days.
“We can confirm that we are receiving crude shipments and will be adjusting rates accordingly,” Todd Spitler, a spokesman for Exxon Mobil, said in an emailed statement.
Spitler said the Irving oil and gas company does not disclose specifics about its production levels. Exxon Mobil’s refining complex in Baytown is the second-largest of its kind in the U.S. with a daily capacity of 586,000 barrels.
“We expect to continue to meet our contractual commitments,” he said.
On Saturday, a barge carrying oil collided with another ship and spilled up to 168,000 gallons of bunker fuel into Galveston Bay near the Texas City Dike.
The Houston Ship Channel was closed until midday Tuesday, stoking fears that refineries would have to curb production rates until they could ship in more crude supplies and ship out refined products.
“If you have ships that can’t leave, it creates a logjam,” said Stewart Glickman, an analyst with S&P Capital IQ.
Eight refineries in the Houston and Texas City areas account for 25 percent of the refining capacity on the Gulf Coast, with the ability to churn about 2.1 million barrels per day.
I don’t know all the facts, but I’d think we have the technology and resources to ring in surface contamination and allow traffic to flow while we cleaned up what we ringed in.
The ship channel where the spill happened is VERY narrow.
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