Exxon Reports Cold Weather-Related Problems at Baytown, Texas Refinery

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) on Tuesday reported gas emissions from a Delayed Coker Unit at its Baytown, Texas refinery after a piece of equipment froze.

"Pilot sensing line frozen due to inclement weather resulted in safety valve relief and safe utilization of the flare system," the refinery said in a statement to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

It said the emissions began Monday night and were expected to end Wednesday morning, adding "there is minimal impact to production. We expect to meet our contractual commitments."

Temperatures throughout many parts of Texas, including the Houston area, began dropping below freezing over the weekend, but are expected to rise moderately over the coming days.

The 561,000-barrel-a-day Baytown refinery, located 25 miles east of Houston, is the nation's second-largest refinery after Saudi Aramco's 600,000-barrel-a-day Motiva Port Arthur refinery.

Write to Dan Molinski at dan.molinski@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 02, 2018 20:17 ET (01:17 GMT)