ExxonMobil has a long history in Beaumont and it’s one of the reasons we’re proud to call Beaumont home. The safety, health, and security of our employees, contractors, and neighbors in the surrounding community are the top priority for ExxonMobil in Beaumont. ExxonMobil is committed to complying with all environmental laws, regulations and permits.
Third Quarter 2017
The Beaumont Community Report
Contents 02 Complex
ExxonMobil is committed to continuous improvement in environmental performance, and we’ve maintained ongoing dialogue with the surrounding community for decades. ExxonMobil has a long history in Beaumont and it’s one of the reasons we’re proud to call Beaumont home. The safety, health, and security of our employees, contractors, and neighbors in the surrounding community are the top priority for ExxonMobil in Beaumont. ExxonMobil is committed to complying with all environmental laws, regulations and permits. We are considering an expansion of crude capacity starting in 2019. The project will be subject to environmental requirements, and total emissions would be within the refinery’s current permit limits. ExxonMobil in Beaumont
04 Operations
05 07 Profiles & Employee Community
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Improvement by the numbers
An approximate reduction in overall emissions since 2002.
Reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions since the installation of three cogeneration units in 2005.
Reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions since the installation of a wet gas scrubber in 2005.
Investment in environmental performance measures over the last 15 years.
Note: This newsletter includes forward-looking statements pertaining to future anticipated plans. All forward–looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. While accurately conveyed at the time of publishing, no updates regarding future changes to forward-looking statements in this newsletter will be provided.
Beaumont is not on any TCEQ air pollutant watch list.
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Operations
Beaumont Polyethylene Expansion
Project moves forward with visible above ground progress
Sprouting throughout the expansion site for the Beaumont polyethylene plant are the visible concrete foundations. Most notable is the 11,000 square foot concrete facility that will serve as the Central Control Building for the Beaumont Polyethylene Expansion (BPEX) site. “This is where the brains for BPEX will be housed. Once completed, trained operators will monitor and control the plant facilities from inside a state-of-the-art control room,” says engineer Chris Hahn. But before the control room can get up-and-running, Hahn and others are working to install new utilities such as raw water, electrical power substations and rail utilities among other things. “There are nearly 27,000 feet of new rail here including a new hopper car-wash facility and new BPEX rail sit yard,” says Hahn. The magnitude of what has been accomplished thus far is put into perspective by what is yet to come. “It’s busy now, and we expect to get even busier,” says construction manager Johnny Collado. “By the
end of June, we poured about 3500 cu. yards of concrete for foundations. We expect to pour more concrete for several other foundations and are about 20 percent complete,” says Collado. The construction site is one of the largest ExxonMobil expansion projects along the Gulf Coast, and it’s also providing opportunities for employment to the area. As of June, 30 percent of the skilled craft labor for the polyethylene expansion project came from the local nine county area with workforce anticipated to peak by the fourth quarter of 2017. Although construction opportunities are the most prevalent at this stage of the project, process operators and instrument technicians among other wage employees will also be in demand once the project is completed. “We will need people to fill those positions which presents a great opportunity for the Southeast Texas area,” says Hahn.
Beaumont Polyethylene Plant’s BPEX expansion site.
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Profiles
Rita Williams, Contract Administrator
I began my career at ExxonMobil nine years ago in Baton Rouge after graduating from Penn State University. My husband and I both hired on with ExxonMobil and were married during our first year at the company. The support we’ve received for our professional development has been incredible particularly considering the moves to different locations and assignments. When I first hired on in Baton Rouge, I worked on the OXO Unit turnaround. It’s something that only happens every eight years and having this experience early on in my career gave me a chance to get hands- on experience in the field. I found that involvement, coupled with my work at Chemicals Headquarters in Houston, was instrumental in giving me a bigger picture of the business. When I came to Beaumont five years ago, I worked with the Catalyst and Synthetics team as the technical supervisor and then operations supervisor. I began my career at ExxonMobil 17 years ago after graduating from Prairie View A&M University with a degree in Computer Science. While working with EMIT, I decided to go back to school and get my Masters in Business Administration (MBA). It was then that I grew interested in the area of procurement, and I was soon able to transfer into Global Procurement within ExxonMobil. I enjoyed my work in Procurement for eight years, and it was the reason why I was able to return home to Southeast Texas. In 2015, ExxonMobil gave me an opportunity to pilot the Site Materials Associate position in Beaumont which endeavored to improve communication between the local site and the Equipment & Materials Procurement team in Houston. The goal was to represent Procurement interests here locally and pass back tactical information about local operations and requirements to the Houston group. Two years later, my family and I are happy that we get to live close to family in the area where my husband and I grew up. I recently accepted another assignment as a Contract Administrator
Rita Williams’ favorite quote is: “Until you find the true you, a new you will always get old.”
here in Beaumont and am proud to say I work for ExxonMobil, especially in a community where ExxonMobil is so vital and well-respected. Outside of work, my family loves giving back to this community. My husband, Chris, works with Communities In Schools to help develop leadership and intervention programs in local area schools. We are active at Paradise Baptist Church and lead the Young Adult ministry. We have two sons at West Brook High School who keep us pretty busy: Nicholas (16) and Samuel (14). I’m glad my career with ExxonMobil has taken me full circle and allowed my family to reconnect with our hometown.
Laura Eiklor, BPEP Engineering Section Supervisor
Laura Eiklor and her husband Dan enjoy traveling and spending time with family and friends.
The team quickly took me in as part of their family, and their ownership and attitude gave me a real sense of pride coming to work every day. Today, in my role at BPEP, that excitement is still there, especially when I see how Beaumont is growing especially with the polyethylene expansion (BPEX). I continue to find my work at ExxonMobil exciting and fulfilling. I look forward to what the future holds, both professionally and personally, for me, my husband Dan, and our one-year-old daughter Lorelei.
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Employee
ExxonMobil fire brigade members participate in corporate fire school training A culture of safety
The wheels of Roderick Boyd’s company truck come to a halt as he makes his first stop on his inspection route at the Beaumont refinery. “This is one of many shelters that we inspect to ensure all safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, automated electrical defibrillators, and self-contained breathing apparatus are working properly. It’s one of many things we do to keep everyone safe,” says Boyd. Boyd is one of 130 emergency response personnel at the Beaumont complex (BMCX) and he recently participated in a rigorous fire training program at Texas A&M College Station. “For me the opportunity to hone my skills as a first responder is critical. Like many of my colleagues, I am passionate about what I do and our aim is to always be ready for any emergency. Continuous training plays a major part in what we do to always be prepared,” says Boyd. Shawn Revia attended the fire training along with Boyd and 30 other BMCX first response personnel. “We trained in the techniques we use to fight fires and perform rescue operations,” says Revia. The program also gave Revia a chance to share with his
colleagues what he’s learned during the 12 years he’s worked at BMCX as a first responder. “We are trained to take action during emergency situations but we prefer to prevent such incidents from happening in the first place. Safety is top of mind for all of us at all times. That means that we never look the other way when a safety concern is present because this is the best strategy to prevent incidents,” says Revia. A mindset revolving around safety is how Boyd describes the culture he shares with his teammates at BMCX. “We always see things through the lens of safety and meeting those standards not just at work but also when we are at home with our families. I want folks to know that we are here should an emergency occur. I can honestly say my teammates are some of the best people I know because they are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice if necessary for our brothers and sisters. There is no greater love a person can have for his fellow man than to be willing to lay down his or her own life to save another,” says Boyd.
(Left) Fire School Training: Fire brigade practices fire safety techniques during training.
(Right) Beaumont refinery fire station: Pictured from left to right are Roderick Boyd and Shawn Revia.
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Employee
Special thanks to Beaumont employee volunteers for success
During the spring we featured a story in The Exemplar about ExxonMobil volunteers partnering with teachers at Martin Luther King middle school in an effort to tutor students in math and science. The goal is to prepare students for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam they were scheduled to take at the end of the school year. The initiative stemmed from the on-going tutoring program ExxonMobil employees initiated at Charlton-Pollard elementary in 2011. The Black Employee Success Team (BEST) organization at ExxonMobil identified an opportunity to help raise test scores on standardized math and science exams by initiating tutoring sessions.
The scores are back and 18 out of the 19 students who participated in the tutoring program passed the STAAR test in math. Jordan Cole was one of several volunteers to participate in the program. “I am encouraged by the work of BEST and other Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in the community. If we work together we have a tremendous opportunity to leverage our strengths to build strong relationships with the schools in our community,” says Cole.
Pictured from Left to Right: Lauren Cagley, Jordan Cole, Erika Anderson, and Karen Adams volunteered to tutor students at MLK middle school.
Community
Amelia Elementary students get a chance to see science in action
“Wow! That’s so cool,” says fifth grader Aiden Cooper as he and his classmates at Amelia Elementary school witness the wonders of static electricity. Standing inside a science museum on wheels, the students were excited to experience the hands-on exhibits teaching them about energy, space, weather, biotechnology, and aerodynamics. The trailer is organized by the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME) and staffed by community volunteers. “Seeing the kids enthusiastic and interested to learn about what we were explaining to them made all the difference for me as a volunteer,” says Isaac Jones. Jones works as an engineer at ExxonMobil and was one of thirteen volunteers from the Global Organization for the Advancement of Latinos (GOAL) to participate in the event. Erika Arango also works with ExxonMobil and is a GOAL member. She volunteered to speak with students about solar flares as part of the space exhibit. “When you see their eyes light up you know that they’ve grasped what you just explained. It was
rewarding to see one student make the connection between solar flares and cellular disruptions during our presentation,” says Erika Arango. About 460 second-grade to fifth-grade students participated in the event during the three days the exhibit was at Amelia Elementary. “I think it’s a great opportunity to help build student’s interest in science and let them know about STEM-related fields at an early age. I was glad to see other ExxonMobil employees supporting this event,” says Jones.
Fifth-grader at Amelia Elementary
observes slides under a microscope inside the TAME trailer exhibit.
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Community
Middle school girls learn first-hand from ExxonMobil engineers what it takes to solve problems
Eighth-grader Ashely Guillory didn’t know what to expect during her field trip to the Beaumont Jefferson Theatre. However, she was fascinated to discover a temporary science lab taking center stage inside the historic Old Spanish-style performing arts theater. “I found it interesting to learn about distillation and to see the mini model on how it works,” says Guillory. Guillory was one of 90 girls selected to participate in ExxonMobil’s annual Introduce A Girl to Engineering event attended by eighth-grade girls from all six Beaumont Independent School District middle schools. “I also found out by doing some of these experiments how engineers are helping shape the environment we live in and that engineers don’t just pump oil out of the ground but also help find ways to make our lives and the environment better,” says Guillory. About 40 Beaumont-area ExxonMobil employees volunteered during the event to help the girls make their own slingshot rockets, aluminum foil rafts, homemade lip balm and more. The fun activities allowed the students to also make critical connections based on the fundamentals of physics, chemistry and physical science. “We hope to generate interest and excitement today. Experience shows us that developing enthusiasm at this age greatly helps with raising confidence levels to pursue engineering,” says Fernando Salazar,
ExxonMobil’s Beaumont refinery manager. Salazar participated in the slingshot rocket experiment and other activities alongside volunteers and students. “We want students to know that being an engineer means collaborating and being creative to solve problems that can help make people’s lives better,” says Salazar. Solving problems to help improve people’s lives is one of the things Beaumont’s Blending and Packaging plant manager Julius Bedford finds rewarding about his work. “This event makes science fun and it gives these students the opportunity to interact with women who’ve found success in the engineering field. That interface can make a powerful impact and broaden their perspective of what they can accomplish,” says Bedford. Encouraging more girls to pursue a career in engineering is one of the reasons why ExxonMobil chemical engineer Anne Cooper decided to volunteer at the event. “I want to set an example and be a role model for these girls and demonstrate that they too can become engineers. I’ve witnessed a lot of enthusiasm today from these girls so that’s encouraging,” says Cooper. “I really think it’s been cool to see all of these experiments and to know there are a lot of different engineers out there. It’s made me think of possibly becoming an engineer,” says Guillory.
(Left) Introduce a Girl to Engineering event: Student makes lip balm, one of the several experiments during the event. (Right) Introduce a Girl to Engineering event: ExxonMobil employees Melissa Chance and Anne Cooper pictured with several BISD students.
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COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS:
Our employees are active in the Beaumont community. Check out some of the events we participated in and supported.
4/6
Introduce A Girl to Engineering Day
4/11 - 13
TAME Trailblazer and STEM Night at Amelia Elementary
4/29
Habitat for Humanity
5/17
Junior Achievement Finance Park at Memorial High School
5/18
Junior Achievement Finance Park at Central High School
5/24
Junior Achievement at Odom High School
5/26
Junior Achievement Career Day at Blanchette Elementary
5/31
Pietzh-MacArthur Elementary Field Day
5/31
Charlton-Pollard Elementary Field Day
6/10
Food sorting at Southeast Texas Food Bank
6/16
ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp at Lamar University
6/22
X-PLORE Electrical Engineering Summer Camp at Lamar University
Contact Us:
Beaumont Operations 409-833-9411
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