Baton Rouge area operations

About us

In the early 1900s, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey sought to strengthen its position in the southern United States.

After considering several locations, the company chose a location high on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in North Baton Rouge. In April 1909, Standard Oil Company of Louisiana was chartered, and by November 1909 the refinery processed its first products.

Since that time, ExxonMobil Baton Rouge has been essential to the economic, political and social landscape of the community. We provide quality jobs, provide technologically innovative products and engage with the community to make it a great place to work and live.

Operational excellence and improved energy efficiency are responsible for Baton Rouge's ever-increasing output capacity. Our versatile integrated facilities produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, aviation fuel, lubricating oils and waxes. In addition, products produced at the Chemical Plant, along with the Resins Finishing, Polyolefins and Plastics plants, are used to make products people use every day, including paint, adhesives, plastic milk jugs, auto parts, plastic films, synthetic rubber, diapers and lubricants.

Safety, health and environment

Safety is fundamental at the Baton Rouge Complex, where we have a simple goal: “Nobody gets hurt.”

The safety of our employees, contractors, visitors and the surrounding community is our core value. We believe that no business objective is so important that it will be pursued at the sacrifice of safety. We strive for an incident-free workplace and a culture that complies with our clear and simple objective: Nobody Gets Hurt. It is a vision through which our employees and contractors accept personal accountability for their own safety, and are willing to intervene to ensure the safety of all.

Our commitment to safety yields results. In 2019 alone, the Baton Rouge Chemical Plant was awarded the SAFE Award by the Louisiana Chemical Association for showing multi-year excellence evaluated against the strictest possible industry standards for employee and environmental safety. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers awarded the Distinguished Safety Award to the Baton Rouge Polyolefins Plant – their highest honor – while the Baton Rouge Chemical Plant was awarded their Elite Gold Award. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the Baton Rouge Refinery with the ENERGY STAR award, which signifies that the facility performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets performance levels set by the EPA. Further, the American Chemistry Council awarded their Responsible Care Facility Safety Award to the Baton Rouge Polyolefins Plant in recognition for the prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses – with zero fatalities, zero days away from work cases, and zero job transfer or restriction cases for both employees and contractors.

ExxonMobil Baton Rouge integrates the Loss Prevention System (LPS) safety program into employee and contractor work processes. LPS is a system to prevent or reduce losses using behavior-based tools and proven management techniques. Along with LPS, long standing committees like the Joint Health and Safety Committee, Department Safety Committees, and others meet regularly to discuss safety and health issues.

We also take environmental responsibility and reducing our energy use seriously. We conduct our business in a manner that is compatible with the balanced environmental and economic needs of the community. In 2019, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) awarded the Baton Rouge Refinery the Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) Award for reducing SO₂ (sulfur dioxide) emissions by 79 percent since 2013. The Refinery had zero environmental spills and was the global leader in flaring performance. We made an investment of more than $40 million in environmental improvement initiatives and technology at the Baton Rouge Polyolefins Plant and Plastics Plant. And, ExxonMobil and Green Standards turned 3,806 tons of corporate surplus into $2,645,607 in charitable donations. 

Emergency preparedness

In addition to our efforts to prevent incidents, we maintain a strong response capability to operational emergencies, should they occur.

We place a great emphasis on training for effective response and the Baton Rouge area Emergency Response Organization consists of the following groups:

• Plant Superintendents: manage emergency operations
• All unit personnel: trained in handling emergencies
• Primary Fire Squad: handles fires in early stages
• Volunteer Fire Brigade: responds if more help is needed
• Rescue Squad: provides rescue in elevated areas and confined space. The team participates in the National Industrial Rescue Training Competition and other national competitions each year.
• Emergency Medical Team (EMT): provides immediate life support
• Chemical Network Response Team (CHEMNET): provides hazardous materials response
• Emergency Local Interfunctional Response Team (ELIRT): handles oil spills

To sharpen professional skills, we annually conduct simulated emergencies and also participate in training provided by the Local Emergency Planning Committee and the Baton Rouge area Mutual Aid System.

Community and news

Employees, retirees and family members annually volunteer more than 31,000 hours to the Baton Rouge area, earning more than $541,000 in Volunteer Involvement Program grants for local agencies and groups.

In addition, we annually donate approximately $1 million to United Way, nearly $1.4 million to Louisiana colleges and universities and more than $620,000 to non-profit groups and programs that help our community in our focus areas of education, workforce development and neighborhood programs.

Some of the education programs we support in the area include:

• Educational Activities: Employees work with area schools to provide assistance with mentoring, tutoring and hands-on classroom learning activities.
• Aquaponics Lab at Brookstown Middle School: ExxonMobil is one of the founding sponsors to fund a fully functioning aquaponics lab that teaches students how to safely operate and maintain the system with the goal of harvesting the catfish and lettuce produced.
• Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day: Employee volunteers host sixth through ninth grade female students for a day of hands-on engineering science-based learning.
• National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI): ExxonMobil is a founding member of NMSI, which provides teachers and students in 21 Louisiana school districts the training, resources and support needed to prepare students for college and future success. The high-quality, rigorous math, science and English courses give students the potential for college credit, financial savings and a jump start on careers across the economic spectrum.
• Wildlife Education: Our wildlife education team provides learning experience for area students on our Greenbelt property that is home to a variety of trees, flowers, birds and bats.

ExxonMobil is the largest manufacturing employer in Louisiana. We provide nearly 6,000 employee and contractor jobs. ExxonMobil pays more than $135 million in total taxes annually (after credits and rebates), and the employee annual payroll is $602 million. We have reinvested $1 billion locally over past three years in operational improvements. Additionally, we were the largest property and use/sales tax payer in East Baton Rouge in 2019 – paying $40 million in property taxes.

Contact information

We work around the clock, 365 days a year, to ensure that we meet the demands of our customers, follow through on our commitment to safety and continually engage partners in the Baton Rouge area communities.

Get updates about planned maintenance and emergencies, or contact us with immediate concerns at the following phone numbers:

• Public Affairs Hotline for Questions or Concerns
  +1 (225) 977-8393 — An ExxonMobil representative will return your call.
• Emergency
  +1 (225) 977-1179 — Security will take message and forward appropriately.