ExxonMobil Chemical Company Begins Multi-Billion Dollar Expansion Project in Baytown, Texas
June 19 2014 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
- Baytown expansion will create 10,000
construction jobs and more than 4,000 related jobs
- Final regulatory approvals
received
- Houston-area community colleges receive
$1 million for workforce training
ExxonMobil Chemical Company announced today that it has started
construction of a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker at its
Baytown, Texas, complex and associated premium product facilities
in nearby Mont Belvieu. This project, and major investments
ExxonMobil has made to develop oil and natural gas resources in the
United States, including the merger with XTO Energy, demonstrates
the company’s continuing commitment to American economic growth and
job creation.
ExxonMobil is expanding its Mont Belvieu,
Texas polyethylene plant to produce more high performance premium
plastics for export to global markets. (Photo: Business Wire)
The steam cracker will have a capacity of up to 1.5 million tons
per year and provide ethylene feedstock for downstream chemical
processing, including processing at two new 650,000 tons per year
high performance polyethylene lines at the company’s Mont Belvieu
plastics plant.
“The project is made possible in large part by abundant,
affordable supplies of U.S. natural gas for energy and chemical
feedstock,” said Steve Pryor, president of ExxonMobil Chemical
Company. The chemical industry and other industrial sectors account
for nearly 30 percent of U.S. natural gas demand. “Shale
development has provided U.S. chemical producers a double benefit
as an energy source and as a key raw material to make plastics and
other essential products, creating jobs and economic activity
across the value chain.”
The project will employ about 10,000 construction workers,
create 4,000 related jobs in nearby Houston communities and add 350
permanent positions at the Baytown complex. It is expected to
increase regional economic activity by roughly $870 million per
year and generate more than $90 million per year in additional tax
revenues for local communities.
Contracts have been awarded for construction, which will begin
immediately. Contracts have been awarded to Linde Engineering North
America, Inc. and Bechtel Oil, Gas, and Chemicals, Inc. to build
olefins recovery units at the ExxonMobil Baytown Olefins Plant.
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co, Ltd. and Huertey
Petrochem S.A. will construct the new olefins furnaces. At the Mont
Belvieu Plastics Plant, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will construct
two 650,000 tons-per-year high-performance polyethylene lines.
Jacobs Engineering, Ltd. will oversee enabling works and
interconnections at both locations. Dashiell Corporation and Wood
Group Mustang will provide specialty contracting services.
The expansion, coupled with ExxonMobil’s global sales and
technology support network, enables ExxonMobil Chemical to
economically supply a rapidly growing demand for high-value
polyethylene products. These premium products deliver
sustainability benefits such as lighter packaging weight, lower
energy consumption, and reduced emissions. ExxonMobil Chemical
estimates exports could increase significantly as a result of the
expansion. Production of these high-quality petrochemical products
used in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications is
expected to start in 2017.
“This expansion will provide many great opportunities for
workers with technical skills who are interested in energy and
chemical manufacturing. These are high-paying jobs that lead to
fulfilling and rewarding careers in an industry that’s vital to the
American economy,” Pryor said. The average annual wage in the Texas
chemical industry is about $100,000.
To support the project’s need for skilled workers, ExxonMobil
has committed $1 million to the Community College Petrochemical
Initiative, a training program offered by nine Houston-area
community colleges to provide technical skills to high school
graduates, returning military veterans and others. The program has
earned state and federal recognition for recruiting and training
instrument technicians, welders, pipefitters and other skilled
employees for the chemical industry. This program will involve
50,000 students and educators over the next five years.
For more information about the project or to learn more about a
career in the industry, visit www.HoustonNaturalGas.com or
www.gulfcoastcc.org. Prospective students may apply online or
enroll at the campus of their choice for classroom instruction,
dual-credit courses, internships, certificate programs and two-year
degrees.
About ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and
gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the
world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading
inventory of resources, is the largest refiner and marketer of
petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest
in the world. Follow ExxonMobil on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/exxonmobil.
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