Houston Smoke Plume May Be Tied to Post-Storm Refinery Start
- Valero had alerted officials of plan to flare amid restart
- Flaring typically doesn’t result in such thick, dark smoke
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Black smoke spewed across Houston’s industrial suburbs on Monday, just days after a winter storm knocked out power at several of the nation’s largest oil refineries.
The plume appeared to be from Valero Energy Corp.’s plant east of downtown, according to a Coast Guard official. The refinery had been completely shut down as of Monday morning, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd.