ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) are set to commence construction on $9bn (£7bn) petrochemical plant in San Patricio County, Texas in the US in the third quarter of this year.
Image: The petrochemical plant in the US is scheduled to be commissioned by 2022. Photo: Image by Markus Naujoks from Pixabay.
The joint venture, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, will build a 1.8 million metric tonne ethane steam cracker, two polyethylene units and a monoethylene glycol unit.
With ExxonMobil as site operator, the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project is owned by ExxonMobil and SABIC, with each holding 50% stake.
The facility will be equipped to produce materials which will be used in the manufacturing of various consumer products including automotive coolants, packaging, agricultural film and building, construction materials and clothing.
The Wood Group, McDermott & Turner Industries Group, Chiyoda & Kiewit and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries & Zachry Group are the four engineering, procurement and construction companies that will responsible for the project construction.
ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Darren Woods said: “Building the world’s largest steam cracker, with state-of-the-art technology, on the doorstep of rapidly growing Permian production gives this project significant scale and feedstock advantages.
“It is one of several key projects that provide the foundation for significantly increasing the company’s earnings potential.”
Scheduled to be commissioned by 2022, the project is expected to create 6,000 jobs during construction phase and 600 permanent jobs once operational.
According to a preliminary independent study, conducted by Impact DataSource, the project is estimated to generate more than $22bn (£17.3bn) in economic output during construction and $50bn (£39.4bn) in economic benefits during the first six years of operation.
SABIC vice-chairman and CEO Yousef Al-Benyan said: “SABIC is very pleased to move forward on this third joint venture with ExxonMobil – the first to be operated outside of Saudi Arabia.
“This project will not only increase global diversification for our company, but will also continue to create value within our new home of San Patricio County through creating jobs and supporting economic growth.”
The project forms part of SABIC’s plan to build new petrochemical facilities in markets, including the Americas in order to address industry demand.