LyondellBasell Industries announced Jan. 6 that its U.S. operations and one of its European holding companies, Basell Germany Holdings GmbH, filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in order to facilitate a restructuring of its debts.

“We have been working collaboratively with our creditors and our equity holder on a financial restructuring that reflects the realties of today’s market environment and positions us for the future,” said LyondellBasell’s CEO Volker Trautz.

LyondellBasell owns and operates an oil refinery in Houston, Texas, and a second one in France. The Houston refinery is a conversion facility capable of processing significant quantities of heavy, high-sulfur crude oil into refined products. The company acquired its refinery in France, located in Berre l’Etang, on April 1, 2008.

National and international energy and environmental security can be achieved through policies that support innovation, competition and free trade, said Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil Corp.

Tillerson, making his comments in a speech to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 8, outlined his view of the energy challenge facing the United States and the world, reiterating expectations for global energy demand to increase 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels. He said the increase in energy demand, driven primarily by developing economies, will come despite the current economic slowdown, efficiency improvements and the growth in alternative energy sources such as wind and solar.

The CEO of the world’s largest publicly traded oil company said “all viable sources of energy and multiple technology breakthroughs” will be needed to meet the growing demand while at the same time protecting the environment.