Flint Hills Resources
Flint Hills Resources is a subsidiary of Koch Industries based in Wichita, Kansas that operates crude oil pipelines and refineries for the production of fuel, raw materials for asphalt and other chemicals used in plastics. The company owns refineries in Rosemound, Minnesota and near Corpus Christi, Texas. [1]
Christmas Eve Oil Spill
On December 24, 2022, a pipe failed at the La Quinta Oil Terminal, a facility operated by Flint Hills Resources outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. This caused an estimated 355 barrels of oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico. Flint Hills Resources allegedly underestimated the amount of oil spilled and let two days pass before reporting the spill to the General Land Office and U.S. Coast Guard. The company later revised the estimate.
14 birds and one sea turtle are known to have died as a result of the spill. Cleanup is still ongoing as of January 9, 2022.