Supply Explorer
Fuels refinery

LyondellBasell Houston Refinery (Houston Refining LP)

Houston Refining LP · LyondellBasell Industries N.V. · Houston, TX

Closed PADD3 IRS refinery no. R-74-TX-0119

263,776 barrels per day is the EIA capacity figure for the plant. Believed to be the oldest refinery on the Houston Ship Channel, in operation since 1918. Permanently closed in the first quarter of 2025. EIA lists the shutdown date as February 2025 and notes that the facility no longer operates as a refinery. Texas Railroad Commission monthly statements show crude runs of 6,402,725 barrels in January 2025, 2,640,079 barrels in February 2025 and none in March 2025. Pipeline shipments of gasoline and diesel continued in March 2025 after crude runs ended. LyondellBasell laid off more than 400 employees around the closure. All crude and product connections listed here are historical.

LyondellBasell Houston Refinery from the Houston Ship Channel
LyondellBasell Houston Refinery from the Houston Ship Channel Photo: Rifleman 82 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
bpd crude capacity · EIA
196,500
pipelines it injects into · +2 same-city tariff origins
0
delivery points reachable
46
terminals on those points
50
events on record
5

Capability

This site isn’t in EIA’s latest refinery capacity survey — usually a sign it has closed, converted, or isn’t a fuels refinery.

Crude slate

Not specifically documented in sources reviewed; historically processed a mix of Gulf Coast/Permian and imported crude typical of Houston Ship Channel refineries.

Crude in & products out

From refinery research; each row links its source.
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DirectionModeRoutePoint / originProductsSource
crude in pipeline Enterprise pipeline
Historical. The Texas Railroad Commission monthly statements list Enterprise PL as a crude carrier to the plant: 1,659,079 barrels in January 2025 and 991,446 barrels in February 2025. There were no crude receipts in March 2025. The form does not identify the line further.		 Not stated crude source
crude in pipeline Houston Fuel Oil Terminal (HFOTCO)
Historical. The monthly statements list the terminal, written as Hfot, as a crude source: 2,462,373 barrels in January 2025 and 624,659 barrels in February 2025. The form does not name the connecting line or the origin of the crude.		 Not stated crude source
crude in pipeline Oiltanking pipeline (OTTI PL)
Historical. The monthly statements list OTTI PL as a crude carrier to the plant: 1,532,367 barrels in January 2025 and 200,305 barrels in February 2025. The form does not identify the line further.		 Not stated crude source
crude in pipeline Magellan Houston crude distribution system
Magellan Crude Oil Pipeline Company Texas No. 6.16.0, effective January 1, 2025, lists Lyondell (Houston Refining) as a delivery point from Magellan East Houston Terminal and from Speed Jct. at 15.00 cents a barrel. The tariff names no upstream line or grade. The January to March 2025 monthly statements show no crude receipts from Magellan.		 Magellan East Houston Terminal and Speed Jct. crude source
crude in marine Houston Ship Channel
Historical. NOAA Coast Pilot 5 says crude oil is received at the refinery wharves, Docks B and C, on the south side of the ship channel. The Coast Pilot text has not been revised for the 2025 closure.		 Waterborne. Origins not stated. crude source
products out marine Houston Ship Channel
Historical. NOAA Coast Pilot 5 says petroleum products and petrochemicals are received and shipped at the refinery wharves. It does not list grades. Dock B has berthing space with dolphins for 800-foot vessels and 40 feet reported alongside. Dock C has 750 feet of berthing space and 38 feet reported alongside.		 Refinery Docks B and C, south side of the Houston Ship Channel gasoline distillate jet fuel source
products out pipeline Explorer Pipeline
Historical. The Texas Railroad Commission monthly statements name Explorer's 16-inch line as the gasoline carrier and its 12-inch line as the kerosene and diesel carrier from the plant. January 2025 shipments were 2,115,757 barrels of gasoline, 485,491 barrels of kerosene and 1,857,093 barrels of diesel. The last shipments found are March 2025: 369,359 barrels of gasoline and 38,997 barrels of diesel.		 At the refinery, into Explorer's 16-inch and 12-inch lines gasoline distillate source
products out pipeline Kinder Morgan Pasadena products pipelines
Historical. The monthly statements show gasoline shipped to Kinder Morgan: 1,495,690 barrels in January 2025, 449,766 in February and 120,667 in March 2025. Kinder Morgan's June 2025 Pasadena Terminal sheet lists Houston Refining Lyondell among the connected refiners. The statements do not say which Kinder Morgan terminal received the gasoline.		 Kinder Morgan Pasadena Terminal gasoline source

Docks

The docks at this facility and, where a ship agent or port publishes it, the largest vessel each berth takes. Channel conditions change; these figures are a guide, not clearance to sail.

Houston Refining docks

Berth Max draft Max length Max beam Air draft
B 34 ft 800 ft 116 ft –
C 32 ft 610 ft 106 ft –

Source: Moran Shipping Agencies port directory, read 2026-10-10.

Pipeline reach

Where this refinery’s product can go by published tariff route from the points it injects at — what an outage here would touch.
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PipelineInjects atDelivery pointsTerminalsLowest ¢/bblMedian ¢/bbl
Explorer Pipeline
Pasadena, Houston same city
26 35 96.30 307.00
Magellan Midstream
East Houston, TX same city
Valero Refining-Texas Houston Refinery same city
20 15 44.33 256.57

Substitutes

Other refineries injecting into the same pipelines — the supply that could backfill an outage here.

Magellan Midstream

Events

Outages, fires, turnarounds, sales and closures — newest first.
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  1. 2025-03 closure

    The Texas Railroad Commission monthly statement for March 2025 shows no crude run and no crude receipts. Gasoline and diesel shipments on Explorer and to Kinder Morgan continued at reduced volumes. EIA lists the refinery as shut down in February 2025. source

  2. 2025-02 closure

    Second CDU-coker train shut down; LyondellBasell/sources reported the shutdown of the Houston refinery complete. source

  3. 2025-01-27 closure

    Shutdown began with the first CDU/coker production train going offline. source

  4. 2025-01-24 closure

    LyondellBasell confirmed layoffs of over 400 employees as the Houston refinery prepared to shut down. source

  5. 2024-11 closure

    LyondellBasell announced it would permanently close the Houston refinery in Q1 2025. source

Rates are pipeline line-haul transcribed from published FERC tariffs; every figure cites its tariff and item. Cost to serve (netback) adds origin spot price and destination fees. "Confirmed" links match a tariff delivery point to the facility; "same city" means the point is in the facility's city — plausible, not proof; "per research" means the facility's research profile names the pipeline as an outlet.