# Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery

Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery, Galveston Bay, TX. 631,000 bpd crude capacity (EIA-820). Injects into Colonial Pipeline, Explorer Pipeline and Marathon Pipe Line (MPLX); reaches 72 delivery points and 194 terminals by published tariff. Crude supply, outlets, events.

- Location: Galveston Bay, TX
- Status: active
- Crude capacity: 631,000 bpd (EIA-820)
- Operator: Marathon Petroleum Company LP
- Parent: Marathon Petroleum Corporation

## Pipelines it injects into
- Colonial Pipeline at Houston (Pasadena, Cedar Bayou) (research) — https://thinkingonenergy.com/supply/pipeline/colonial-pipeline/
- Explorer Pipeline at Pasadena, Houston (Harris County, TX) (research) — https://thinkingonenergy.com/supply/pipeline/explorer-pipeline/
- Marathon Pipe Line (MPLX) at Texas City (Galveston County), TX (research) — https://thinkingonenergy.com/supply/pipeline/marathon-pipe-line-mplx/

## Reach by published tariff route
| Pipeline | Delivery points | Terminals | Lowest ¢/bbl | Median ¢/bbl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonial Pipeline | 70 | 303 | 77.52 | 167.26 |
| Marathon Pipe Line (MPLX) | 2 | 2 | 45.52 | 93.87 |

## Reach by barge (inferred)
47 terminals supplied by barge from docks on Galveston Bay / Houston Ship Channel, in 10 rack markets.

## Crude supply
- pipeline: Seaway Pipeline — Seaway's Texas City terminal and distribution system serves refineries in the Greater Houston/Texas City area.
- pipeline: Wink to Webster Pipeline — Named by project sponsors and Galveston County as delivering Permian crude/condensate to multiple Houston-market destinations 'including the Galveston Bay refinery.'
- marine: Galveston Bay / Texas City Channel — Refinery sits directly on the Texas City Channel/Galveston Bay.

## Product outlets
- pipeline: Marathon Pipe Line (MPLX) Texas City products system — The refinery's own way out by pipe. Marathon Pipe Line FERC No. 302.19.0 (effective 2026-07-01) publishes Texas City, TX as an origin, with rates to Pasadena delivery facilities: Kinder Morgan, Hardin Street Transportation, Edgewater-Colex and Enterprise TE Products (45.52 cents a barrel), and ITC and the Magellan Valero Partnership terminal (93.87); the tariff's Pasadena point also lists Colonial Pipeline and Explorer Pipeline. MPLX's 10-K describes the Texas City products system as about 39 miles of 16-inch pipeline carrying refined products from refineries owned by MPC and third parties in Texas City to MPC's Pasadena tank farm and third-party terminals, and about three miles of 30- and 36-inch pipeline from the tank farm to the Enterprise, Colonial and Centennial systems, 215,000 b/d. Everything the refinery sends to Colonial, Explorer and TE Products goes this way first.
- pipeline: Colonial Pipeline — Not a direct connection at the plant: product moves on MPLX's Texas City line to the Pasadena tank farm and from there by MPLX's 30- and 36-inch lines into Colonial (MPLX 10-K; Marathon Pipe Line FERC No. 302.19.0 lists Colonial Pipeline at its Pasadena point).
- pipeline: Explorer Pipeline — Not a direct connection at the plant: Marathon Pipe Line FERC No. 302.19.0 lists Explorer Pipeline among the facilities at its Pasadena delivery point, reached from Texas City.
- marine: Texas City Channel (Galveston Bay) — The refinery's docks are on the Texas City Channel and turning basin, dredged to 45 ft, not on the Houston Ship Channel. A ship agent lists five Marathon berths there, and the Port of Texas City's public berth is also used by Marathon, Valero and BWC (see Docks).
- truck_rack: Refinery truck rack (not identified) — The refinery's bonded truck rack has not been identified. The IRS entry 'Texas City Terminal' at 760 14th Street South (T-76-TX-2870), which sits on Marathon's fence line and was earlier assumed to be it, is listed under Enterprise Products Partners in a facility directory built from EPA records (https://decarbonfuse.com/companies/enterprise-products-partners-lp), not under Marathon.
- rail: BNSF / Union Pacific — Port of Texas City's ownership/interchange includes both BNSF and Union Pacific and a local short line (Galveston Railroad), but a dedicated crude/product rail-loading facility specifically at Marathon's refinery was not confirmed.

## Recent events
- 2026-08-01 — A condenser on cat cracker No. 3 leaked to atmosphere; operators changed the unit's conditions and isolated the exchanger to stop it (Reuters).
- 2026-04-16 — The cat cracker was reported back to normal operation after an upset.
- 2025-07 — The fire-damaged hydrotreater was expected to remain shut until September 2025, with all other units running at/near full capacity.
- 2025-06-14 — Fire at the 400-train hydrotreater (Residual Hydrotreating Unit, 64,000 bpd) prompted a shelter-in-place order; FCC-3 gasoline unit throughput was cut back for several days.
- 2023 — South Texas Asset Repositioning (STAR) project completed, raising Galveston Bay Refinery capacity to ~631,000 bpd.

---
Source: Thinking On Energy Supply Explorer — https://thinkingonenergy.com/supply/refinery/marathon-petroleum-co-lp-galveston-bay-tx/
Built from published FERC pipeline tariffs, EIA-820, the IRS Terminal Control Number list and sourced research. Rates are line-haul only. Cite as: Thinking On Energy, Supply Explorer, 2026-10-20.