LyondellBasell closing Houston refinery by end of 2023

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- LyondellBasell is leaving the refining business.

On Thursday, the company announced it plans to shut down its refinery by the end of 2023. The company is calling this a "strategic and financial decision."

"LyondellBasell's Houston Refinery has a rated capacity to transform 268,000 barrels per day of crude oil into transportation fuels and other products including lubricants, chemical intermediates and petroleum coke," the company said in a statement on its website.

A few months after the COVID-19 pandemic started, Lyondell announced it would lay off 10% of its refinery workforce.

When ABC13 reached out to LyondellBasell about how many jobs would be impacted as a result, the company said "approximately 550 LyondellBasell employees currently work at the Houston Refinery. We are still very early in the process. We are committed to do everything we can to assist our people through this transition. We are evaluating options for the affected employees."