Four injured in fire at Exxon refinery

Authorities were trying to determine the cause of an early-morning fire at the Exxon Mobil refinery in Baytown that left four people injured.

The cause of the fire, which started around 1 a.m. Thursday and was extinguished eight hours later, remained unknown. Fire investigators were waiting for results of air monitoring to ensure that it was safe to be at the scene and conduct their inquiry.

Exxonmobil said available information indicated “no adverse air quality … impact to the community or personnel on site.” The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said there were no detectable odors.

“We are coordinating with authorities as appropriate, and all findings will be incorporated in our continuing effort to enhance our safety performance,” Exxon spokeswoman Julie King said. “We deeply regret any disruption or inconvenience that this incident caused to the community.”

Exxon said the fire occurred at the company’s unit for hydrodesulfurization, a chemical process used to remove sulfur from natural gas and refined petroleum products.

Four people were taken to hospitals — three by helicopter and one by ambulance — with injuries that included flash burns and a broken leg, authorities said. All were reported in stable condition.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said initial reports indicated an explosion inside the plant caused the fire. Exxon did not mention an explosion in its statement.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for Gasbuddy, a company that tracks fuel prices, said it was too early to know whether the incident will affect gasoline production or prices at the pump.

Exxon’s Baytown refinery is the fourth largest in the nation, with a processing capacity of 560,500 barrels of crude oil per day as of Jan. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

“This is a large facility but I do NOT believe this will cause a large spike in [prices] at this time,” De Haan said on social media.

Thursday’s incident was not the first at Exxon’s 3,400-acre Baytown complex, 25 miles east of Houston.

In July 2019, a fire at Exxon’s olefins plant injured 37 people and darkened the sky with smoke.

In March, a federal judge imposed a $14.25 million penalty on Exxon for violating the federal Clean Air Act at its Baytown refinery over eight years.

“Exxon’s Baytown facility has a long history of environmental violations that put people’s health at risk,” said Luke Metzger, executive director of the nonprofit Environment Texas. “This is the second major industrial disaster at Baytown in the past three years. Texas needs to hold Exxon accountable for the dangerous conditions at the Baytown refinery and chemical complex that caused this unnecessary disaster.”

Exxon said residents could receive information about the fire by calling 1800-241-9010.

The refinery began operating in 1920. The complex has 2,168 employees, plus an average of nearly 2,400 personnel under contract.