Fire erupts at ExxonMobil’s Baytown refinery
4/7/2016 12:00:00 AM
By Erwin Seba and Jessica Resnick-Ault
HOUSTON, April 7 (Reuters) -- A fire erupted at ExxonMobil's refinery in Baytown, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, sending a large plume of black smoke into the air that was visible for miles across Houston.
Exxon said the fire was later extinguished, no workers were injured and output would not be hurt at the 560,500-bpd oil refinery, the second-largest in the United States.
The company provided no information on the affected unit but said it would monitor air quality around the complex and the community.
Television footage showed firefighters extinguishing the blaze on one of the plant's towers.
People in the vicinity and the US Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service near the Houston Ship Channel had first reported smoke coming from the facility, which includes a chemical plant.
Emergency management officials did not immediately comment.
(Additional reporting by Kristen Hays and Liz Hampton; Editing by Terry Wade and David Gregorio)
Comments