LyondellBasell hopes closing Houston refinery will advance its new goal to reduce climate-warming pollution

LyondellBasell on Friday said closing its Houston refinery will help it reach ambitious new goals to reduce climate-warming pollution associated with its facilities and products. The multinational chemicals giant with headquarters in Houston said it aims to reduce the emissions released at its facilities by 42 percent by 2030 compared with a 2020 baseline. Lyondell also aims to reduce the indirect emissions released through the use of its products by 30 percent over the same period. “This approach is not only good for society," LyondellBasell CEO Peter Vanacker said, "but also good for business.”

The company announced plans this year to close the Houston refinery — among the nation’s largest — in 2023 as it shifts to development of recycled plastics, for which demand is soaring. It would be the latest in a series of major refineries to close since the start of the pandemic, which forced refiners to reckon with mounting costs and declining future prospects for gasoline as the energy transition accelerates. About 550 people work at the refinery along the Houston Ship Channel. It can process 268,000 barrels of oil per day into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Closing it is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the company's facilities by more than 3 million metric tons annually, and reduce indirect emissions released through the use of its products by about 40 million metric tons annually, the company said. Shutting down the Houston refinery could make way for “a very large investment” at the site off Highway 225, as the company advances molecular recycling technology and other forms of advanced recycling that could be “a very good fit” for the property, Vanacker said this year.