Baytown Refinery
Baytown, Texas had the debut of their own oil refinery in 1919. It was owned by the Humble Oil Company. Over time, they partnered with the Standard Oil Company, but kept the Humble name even though Standard actually owned more shares of stock.
By 1964, both Humble and Standard Oil were doing extremely well. Humble initiated an advertising campaign with the memorable slogan, "Put A Tiger In Your Tank". In 1972, however, the two companies decided to rebrand the corporation and began to change the name of all their affiliates to Exxon. Another merger occurred in 1998, this time between Exxon and Mobil Oil Corp., and the company then took on the name ExxonMobil.
Prior to the final merger, Exxon Corporation made a massive expansion of the Baytown refinery. They did not, however, notify the U.S. Federal Government and receive approval for these plans, which is a direct violation of the Clean Air Act. Exxon completed their work and continued on with business. It appeared that their violation was not noticed, until it was eventually caught by he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2000.
During 2000 and 2001, the Baytown facility fell under intense scrutiny. The plant was cited as a gross polluter, and found guilty of not properly containing or reporting hazardous emissions. A report with all the findings was put together and distributed to EPA officials.
ExxonMobil was forced to upgrade the plant, and spend millions for better equipment, fines and community programs. The refinery underwent a massive update, and it was not until 2003 that the new plant was ready for permanent operation.
The plant upgrades that were accomplished at that time were not the only massive undertaking in the refinery's history. Years prior, the plant had to undergo the removal and disposal of many items that were made out of asbestos, because of the toxic nature of the substance. Asbestos was used in many products that were found in industrial settings until it was found to be hazardous. It can cause damage to the respiratory system and lead to a life threatening form of cancer called mesothelioma. Due to the dangers presented, anyone who has worked close to asbestos laden products should be examined by their doctor immediately.
Texas is known for having more oil refineries than any other state, and the Baytown plant is recognized as being the largest. It has the capacity to produce up to 557,000 in a single day, and employs more citizens of the city than any other corporation.
Last modified: December 09, 2009.
