Home / United States / Oil refineries / Petromax Refining Houston Refinery

Petromax Refining Houston Refinery

Refinery in United States. Approximate location 29.75377, -95.12322.

RefineryUnited StatesCO₂ estimate (modelled)

Petromax Refining Houston Refinery is a refinery in United States. Its listed capacity is 25,000 BBL per day. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by Petromax Refining Company LLC. By capacity it ranks #101 among 119 oil refineries in United States. It emits about 152,217 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 35k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 29% below the national median for this sector.

25,000BBL per day
152,217t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#518CO₂ rank in United States
6.09t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-1753369.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityPetromax Refining Houston Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryUnited States Climate TRACE
Coordinates29.75377, -95.12322 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity25,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorPetromax Refining Company LLC Climate TRACE
TRI facility recordPETROMAX REFINING CO LLC US EPA TRI
TRI parent companyPETROMAX REFINING CO LLC US EPA TRI
TRI NAICS324110 US EPA TRI
TRI reported chemicalsBenzene, Cumene, Cyclohexane, Ethylbenzene, Methanol, Naphthalene… US EPA TRI
TRI on-site releases2,679 lb/yr US EPA TRI
Modelled CO₂e152,217 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

United States rank#518 of 1910 · top 27.1% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#533 of 630 · top 84.6% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Similar facilities by modelled emissions

Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.

Operating power plants within 50 km

PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.

In context: how this facility compares

At 25,000 BBL per day, Petromax Refining Houston Refinery is below the median refinery in United States (89,200 BBL per day). Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 152,217 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

35kcars driven for a year
20khomes' annual energy use
2.5 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 152k t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Petromax Refining Houston Refinery carries no domestic carbon price; refinerys are not a CBAM-covered good, so there is no border-carbon liability. At the EU ETS reference price (€75/t) the emissions carry an indicative carbon value of €11.5M/yr. The fastest decarbonization lever is energy efficiency: eliminating heat loss on hot equipment (removable insulation, steam & waste-heat recovery) typically cuts 2–5% of fuel-related CO₂ — here ≈3k t–8k t/yr, worth €229k€574k, with payback up to 2 years. No domestic carbon price — but cement, steel, aluminium, fertilizer and hydrogen exported to the EU face CBAM at €75/t (rising to 100% by 2034).

152k t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€11.5M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
3k t–8k t/yr ≈ €229k€574kDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: Climate TRACE. Efficiency range: US DOE / ASTM C680 (method). Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice. Estimate the saving for this site →

Capacity vs largest oil refineries in United States

Motiva Port Arthur Refinery: 640,500 BBL per day640kMotiva Por…Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery: 633,000 BBL per day633kMarathon G…Exxonmobil Beaumont Refinery: 612,000 BBL per day612kExxonmobil…Marathon Garyville Refinery: 606,000 BBL per day606kMarathon G…Exxonmobil Baytown Refinery: 564,440 BBL per day564kExxonmobil…Exxonmobil Baton Rouge Refinery: 522,500 BBL per day522kExxonmobil…Citgo Lake Charles Refinery: 459,800 BBL per day460kCitgo Lake…BP Whiting Refinery: 435,000 BBL per day435kBP Whiting…

Listed capacity (BBL per day), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Petromax Refining Company LLC.

Local climate

Petromax Refining Houston Refinery sits in a humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), at 29.8°N in the northern hemisphere.

~18°Ctypical annual mean
~27°Ctypical warm-season
Humid subtropical: hot summers and mild winters

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
44/100environmental-severity index
17.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
61 kmdistance to coast
HighCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1293 W/m² to ambient — roughly 0.99× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1228 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #101 largest of 119 oil refineries in United States by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 29.75377, -95.12322. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 32,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 6,400 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

United States: funding & obligation

Funding. Investment tax credit up to 30% of qualified investment incl. industrial decarbonization; open to small/medium/large manufacturers. official source · verified 2026
Status: ~$6B of $10B allocated Jan-2025; remaining capacity + IRA status under political review — verify before 'apply now'.

Obligation. None at federal level (voluntary). Some states have their own programs. (applies as a rule above the stated threshold — we do not hold this site's metered energy use). · verified 2026

Programme terms verified 2026-06-18; confirm the current open phase before applying. Eligibility depends on a site's energy use / headcount, which we do not hold — not a per-facility eligibility determination.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is Petromax Refining Houston Refinery?

Petromax Refining Houston Refinery is a refinery in United States. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

What capacity is listed for Petromax Refining Houston Refinery?

The open dataset lists 25,000 BBL per day of capacity for Petromax Refining Houston Refinery.

How much CO₂ does Petromax Refining Houston Refinery emit?

The page uses about 152,217 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #518 among facilities in United States by estimated CO₂.

Where is Petromax Refining Houston Refinery located?

Petromax Refining Houston Refinery is in United States at approximately 29.75377, -95.12322.

Who operates Petromax Refining Houston Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is Petromax Refining Company LLC.

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