Oil & Gas
- By Anayo Ezugwu
EXXONMOBIL Corporation has increased its financial commitment to Harvey relief effort to $9.5 million. This increase includes a new employee and retiree donation match programme and in-kind donations to the American Red Cross for recovery efforts in South Texas. The increased support builds on $1 million in previous contributions to the American Red Cross and United Way of Greater Houston.
ExxonMobil is working to limit the disruption of fuel supplies in the region caused by shutdowns of refining and transportation infrastructure due to weather and flooding. Efforts are underway to transport refined products from unaffected regions to communities and customers in the most severely impacted markets. The company is working to re-establish normal operations and replenish fuel supplies as safely and quickly as possible.
In the meantime, consumers are encouraged to be conservative with fuel use to help preserve supplies for first responders and other critical users.
Darren W. Woods, chairman and chief executive officer, ExxonMobil, said the company’s thoughts and sympathies remain with their colleagues, families, friends and neighbours in communities suffering from the storm’s effects. “Our primary focus remains the safety and security of our employees, facilities and neighbors in Houston, Beaumont and other impacted areas.”
The company is assessing its Upstream, Downstream and Chemical facilities located along the Texas Gulf Coast.
Woods said “We are continuously monitoring the status and effects of the storm and will determine when we can begin to restore our refining, chemical and oil production to pre-storm capacity safely. We understand the impacts reduced production is generally having across the region, and we’re working as hard as possible to bring our facilities back online quickly and safely.”
Impact assessments are underway at ExxonMobil’s Baytown complex, which has safely shut down the majority of its operations. There have been no reports of oil or gasoline leakage from the complex. The nearby Mont Belvieu plastics plant is also shut down. The company’s Beaumont refinery and chemical plants have completed safe and systematic shut down of their operations.
ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge, La., refining and chemical facilities are operating as normal. The company is actively monitoring emissions as a result of the storm and remains in close contact with neighbouring communities regarding safety and environmental issues.
ExxonMobil’s Hoover and Galveston 209 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico remain shut in, and crews are in the process of assessing those operations. Systems are safe and operational at the Hadrian South subsea production system in the Gulf, and production startup operations are underway. ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy previously shut in production that was in the direct line of the storm. Crews have been assessing impacts to those operations and are beginning to resume production.
To support the safety of employees, their families and neighbours, ExxonMobil’s Houston campus will remain closed through Sept. 1, except for critical emergency response and recovery personnel. To support employees, the company is working to locate hotel rooms for impacted personnel and helping provide resources for home cleanup and recovery. Health and counselling services are also being provided to those employees who wish to take advantage of these programmes.
ExxonMobil’s disaster assistance zero-interest loan programme is available for employees living in Texas counties designated as federal disasters who incurred damage to personal property due to the storm. Various hotlines providing updated information are available to employees across different geographical locations, and the company has activated its automated employee tracking system to help ensure their safety and wellbeing.
Non-essential staff has been encouraged to remain at home to avoid potentially dangerous road conditions, and all employees have been asked to maintain consistent communication with supervisors regarding their status, safety and any additional weather-related challenges they may be experiencing.
ExxonMobil is advising employees in impacted areas to stay tuned to news and government updates, as well as travel advisories to receive the most current information. ExxonMobil has a proud history of employee volunteerism. Many employees are already contributing and making themselves available to support various relief and recovery efforts. The company continues to assess community needs in impacted areas and remains in contact with government authorities and disaster relief agencies.
ExxonMobil announced today that it is launching an employee and retiree donation match programme to support relief and recovery. Employee and retiree contributions to the American Red Cross and Salvation Army will be matched on a one-to-one basis up to $25,000 per contribution and up to $3 million in total, which will generate up to $6 million for the disaster relief organisations. Employees may also take advantage of the company’s volunteer involvement programme. In the United States, the programme provides qualified organisations a $500 donation on the employee’s behalf for every 20 hours volunteered, up to four times per volunteer per year.
ExxonMobil also has donated $2.3 million in advertising time to the Red Cross that will be dedicated to high-profile televised public service announcements. And crews from ExxonMobil’s proposed petrochemical project with SABIC in South Texas have begun cleaning up debris from Hurricane Harvey. The project, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, diverted a project subcontractor from site preparation work to provide heavy equipment and local workers to Gregory, Portland, Ingleside and surrounding communities to assist with post-storm cleanup efforts.
Bay Limited, subcontracted by Amec Foster Wheeler, will conduct civil and site maintenance work for the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures Project as it progresses.
ExxonMobil has more than 23,000 employees in Texas and Louisiana. ExxonMobil’s state-of-the-art campus near Houston is home to its Upstream, Downstream and Chemical companies, as well as associated service groups. The campus is designed to accommodate 10,000 employees.
– Sept. 1, 2017 @ 16:45 GMT /
Tags: Darren W. Woods ExxonMobil ExxonMobil increases Harvey Relief Effort Commitment to $9.5 Million Harvey
