No intruder found after search at Exxon Baytown, Texas, refinery

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A seven-hour search for a possible intruder into Exxon Mobil Corp's (NYSE: XOM) Baytown, Texas, complex, which includes the nation's second-largest crude oil refinery, yielded no results, a spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office said on Saturday.

Operations at the Baytown refinery and adjoining chemical plants were not affected by the search, Exxon said.

"The facilities continue to operate at normal rates," said Exxon spokesman Todd Spitler.

The Houston Chronicle reported on its website that a man with a backpack was thought to have climbed over one of the Exxon security gates.

Employees were required to remain inside buildings in parts of the complex.

"To ensure the safety and security of our personnel, we implemented our site security plan in portions of our complex today," Spitler said. "Working with law enforcement expertise, the majority of the work force has been released back to work."

Dogs were used in the search of the complex after the intruder was reported at about 7:30 a.m. CDT (1230 GMT), said Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Thomas Gilliland.

"Originally a male was thought to have trespassed onto the property," Gilliland said. "Canine units from HCSO were utilized but no positive contact was made on any male. No contact was made with anyone and no substantiated claims were ever found."

The Baytown refinery was the site a large fire that spread black smoke over a large part of northeast Harris County on Thursday. There were no injuries due to the blaze.

U.S. refineries and chemical plants beefed up security following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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