At least two people were injured at an industrial facility near Beltway 8 and SH 225 in Deer Park, Texas on Friday. Employees were evacuated.
The fire broke out in an olefins unit, people familiar with plant operations told Reuters. Social media users shared pictures and videos of a large cloud of black smoke coming out of the industrial plant, which is located near Highway 225 in the Houston suburb.
Also Read| Who is Daniel J Penny? Former Marine put homeless Jordan Neely in fatal chokehold
One person sustained a minor injury, two of Reuters’ sources said. KHOU-TV in Houston said two people were reported to have sustained injuries.
A Pemex refinery is just next to the plant where the explosion happened. The company said that the fire was not at one of its units and its emergency response team was assisting fighters.
Pemex acquired 49.995% of the shares of Deer Park Refinery in Houston, Texas in 1993, as per their website. It started its partnership with Shell Oil Company. The company says that the crude processing capacity at the plant is of 340 thousand barrels per day.
“It can process heavy and light crude without generating fuel oil. It produces about 110 thousand barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline, 90 thousand bpd of diesel, and 25 thousand bpd of jet fuel, in addition to other products. It is characterized by its good performance and use above 80%.
Benefits for Mexico,” the company adds.
“Holy cow. Smoke looks to be moving away from my house thankfully. Shell/Pemex Deer Park refinery has exploded,” a Twitter user said.
“We have just arrived at a plant explosion at the Shell Pemex Plant in Deer Park right off of Highway 225 near the Beltway. Traffic is not affected. Fire does not appear to be contained. Unknown injuries,” an ABC reporter tweeted.
