Until 2017, the Motiva Port Arthur Refinery was a joint venture with a 50% ownership between Shell Oil Products US and Saudi Refining Inc.

[citation needed] Initially, the crude it processed came from Saudi Arabia, but it has since expanded to work with other countries, based on where the oil is available.

[5] Nevertheless, according to local sources, the plant was forced to run at 50% capacity, including several units that were shut down for repairs.

[8] News organizations had reported that Shell and Aramco's joint business venture began to unravel shortly after the multi-billion dollar facility expansion.

[9] Increases in operating costs subsequent to the expansion combined with the 2015 workers strike damaged relations between these oil giants beyond repair.

[9] As per the dissolution agreement with Shell, Saudi Aramco retained Motiva's name,[10] Port Arthur refinery, and 24 distribution terminals.

In return, Shell retained two Louisiana refineries (Convent and Norco), eleven distribution terminals, and received a $2.2 billion balancing payment.

[11][12] Energy and Middle East experts speculated that, through acquiring Port Arthur Refinery, Saudi Aramco would maintain a dominant presence on the Gulf of Mexico coast.

[16] A study by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston indicates that Port Arthur residents located around the refinery are four times more likely than Galveston residents to have heart and respiratory conditions, nervous system and skin disorders, headaches and muscle aches, and ear, nose, and throat ailments.

According to the Texas Cancer Registry, black Jefferson county residents have cancer rates 15% higher than that of their white counterparts,[18] largely due to black communities living closer to Jefferson county's refineries such as Port Arthur than white communities.

[20] The facility releases six airborne chemicals in a residential area that exceeded the Health Effects Screening Levels and are linked to cancer growth and development, including benzene and chloroform.

Shell Co. underscores this sentiment by stating that its recent multi-billion dollar expansion was a boon for local economy, generating more than $17 billion in regional economic development.

Additionally, majority of the populations around the refineries come from minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged background and lack resources to move to a less polluted area.

Hilton Kelley, another Port Arthur resident, is a prominent leader in the campaign for restrictions on emissions and reparations for medical costs.

[24] A lawsuit was filed against Motiva Enterprises LLC in 2008 for their pollution of the Alligator Bayou next to the Port Arthur Refinery.

[5] In January 2015 the US EPA filed a civil lawsuit against Motiva's parent company, Equilon Enterprises, for violations of the Clean Air Act at its many oil refineries, including its Port Arthur facility.

[6] In early June 2012, after two fires erupted and a heater broke, workers noticed that caustic vapors had leaked out of a tank and caused widespread accelerated corrosion of pipes and equipment.