Energy Company Efforts in Hurricane Harvey Recovery

At a time when Texas officials are totaling up the huge cost of rebuilding from Hurricane Harvey, it’s worth taking a moment to look back at the inspiring stories of neighbors helping each other during the crisis moments when floodwaters were rising and so many people were in need of help.

It turns out that some of those neighbors, in Houston, Beaumont, and surrounding areas, were employees of major energy companies. Oil companies aren’t always at the top of the list when it comes to inspiring human interest stories, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute has put together a new series of videos called “Energy Strong” that highlights some great examples of public spiritedness during the recent disaster.

Employees at Exxon Mobil put their own worries and concerns aside after being notified that the city of Beaumont had lost access to their water supply when the pumps that deliver fresh water had been compromised. The team quickly went into action and provided piping and infrastructure that would allow over 100,000 residents to get access to clean water.

Melissa and Martha of Halliburton received word that there were children that needed help evacuating from a community outside of Houston. With a strong desire to help, Melissa quickly leveraged assets from Haliburton to coordinate an evacuation of over 90 people all while Martha was assisting in evacuation efforts and aiding neighbors she had never met.

See also this Tax Foundation blog post from a few years back, “Do Oil Companies Pay Their Fair Share in Taxes?”