Crews extinguish fire at ExxonMobil Baytown refinery; US aromatics, base oils impact unclear

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Crews extinguished a fire at the ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas, on Thursday morning and the cause is unknown, according to the company on Twitter.

The fire’s impact on US aromatics and base oils production is not yet known.

The company has adjusted other Baytown facilities operating rates to focus on stabilising the affected units, according to an ExxonMobil spokesperson.

The Baytown refinery produces base oils and aromatics and an adjacent chemicals site produces olefins and polyolefins.

Aromatics capacity is as follows, according to the ICIS Supply and Demand Database:

Product	% US capacity
Benzene	8.5
Toluene	12.5
MX	17.0
PX	20.0
OX	46.0

Base oils capacity is as follows (percentages reflect US share of group capacity), according to the ICIS Supply and Demand Database:

Product	% of US capacity
Group I base oil	17%
Group II base oil	11%

Additional reporting by Amanda Hay

(Recasts paragraph 3 with updates on rates)

Front page image: ExxonMobil’s Baytown, Texas complex. Source: TANNEN MAURY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock