Some oil refineries are shutting down in the wake of rainfall and flooding from Hurricane Harvey.
Shell has shut down its massive Deer Park refinery in southeastern Houston, among the largest in the United States with a crude oil capacity of 340,000 barrrels per day.
The company said in a statement obtained by CNBC, “On Sunday, August 27, 2017, we made the decision to initiate a controlled shut down of the Deer Park refinery and chemical plant as a result of heavy rainfall and associated nearby flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Only essential personnel will stay on site through the end of the week.”
Also on Sunday, Petrobras said it would shut down its Pasadena refinery, with a capacity of 110,000 barrels per day, thanks to “severe weather,” according to Dow Jones.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Sunday that almost 22 percent of current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been “shut-in,” based on reports from operators. That’s about 378,000 barrels per day, out of a total of 1.75 million in the region.
Exxon Mobil on Friday shut down its plant in Baytown on the Houston Ship Channel, with a capacity of more than 500,000 barrels, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Damage assessments are underway at other area refineries, Reuters has reported.
Harvey, now a tropical storm hovering over the Houston area, could set a Texas rainfall record with over 50 inches of rainfall, said the National Weather Service.