Large storage tanks situated in retention ponds are surrounded by rainwater left behind by Tropical Storm Harvey at Exxon Mobil’s refinery in Baytown, Texas, on Aug. 30, 2017. Corp. XOM 0.31% said it is working toward restarting its Houston-area Baytown refinery—the nation’s second-largest oil refinery—after a shutdown due to Tropical Storm Harvey, but said another of its coastal Texas refineries remains closed. Exxon’s two processing plants were among nearly a dozen refineries forced to halt operations due to Harvey, which wreaked havoc on three of the U.S.’s main refining hubs along the Texas coastline—Corpus Christi, Houston and the Port Arthur/Beaumont region. The closures have taken around 20% of U.S. refining capacity offline and have caused gasoline prices to soar, both at the wholesale and retail levels, amid concerns many of the refineries may be damaged and stay shut for weeks. ”Our initial assessment of Exxon Mobil’s Baytown complex revealed […]