Most Houston-area refineries unaffected by flooding after heavy rains

Reuters

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Most Houston-area refineries were unaffected by heavy rains that caused flooding across wide areas of the city, the companies and sources said on Tuesday.

Rainfall totals over 7 inches (17.8 centimeters) were recorded by the Harris County Flood Warning System in the past 24 hours. Houston police reported 13 rescues from high water by Tuesday morning.

ExxonMobil Corp's Baytown, Texas, refinery; Royal Dutch Shell Plc's joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery, and Phillips 66's Sweeny, Texas, refinery were operating normally on Tuesday morning, company representatives said.

Sources said LyondellBasell Industries' Houston refinery was operating normally as was Marathon Petroleum Corp's Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas.

A spokesman for Marathon declined to discuss operations at the company's refineries in Texas City. A Lyondell spokeswoman did not reply to a message about the refinery's status on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)