TEXAS CITY — When gasoline production at BP’s Texas City refinery resumes sometime in the next week, not all of the nation’s third largest refinery will be operational.
BP has decided to begin an extensive inspection and retooling effort at the refinery.
That process means most of the refinery’s 29 units will remain offline for an undetermined amount of time.
Company officials confirmed the plan Tuesday as startup procedures following Hurricane Rita began.
BP, like the other industrial facilities in Texas City, shut down when a mandatory evacuation of Galveston County was called.
“The refinery plan also takes into account the unique opportunity created by a total refinery shutdown and BP’s commitment to make Texas City a safer and more dependable refinery,” spokesman Neil Geary said.
On Tuesday, BP’s management was meeting with unit supervisors, explaining what the company terms a gas production train.
That plan, outlined in a memo to supervisors, indicates that BP will first bring up units to produce gasoline to meet market demand.
The remaining units will remain offline as the company begins an extensive inspection of the refinery. Company officials would not specify how many units would remain offline.
