ExxonMobil said that it will fund the construction of a new polypropylene production unit in Baton Rouge that will expand production capacity along the Gulf Coast by up to 450,000 tons per year. The construction will begin in 2019 and start-up is anticipated by 2021. The project is expected to create up to 600 jobs during construction and 65 permanent jobs once completed.
The engineering, procurement and construction contract has been awarded to Baton Rouge-based Turner Industries and Jacobs Engineering. The companies will use local workers to design and construct the new facility.
This new project is in addition to ExxonMobil’s previously announced plans to invest USD 20bn to build and expand manufacturing facilities in the U.S. Gulf region as part of it’s Growing the Gulf initiative, which is expected to create more than 45,000 high-paying jobs across the region.
Growing the Gulf projects include a new state-of-the-art aviation lubricants blending, packaging, and distribution facility in the Baton Rouge area as well as refining and chemical expansions at ExxonMobil’s Beaumont and Baytown facilities. ExxonMobil and SABIC have also created a new joint venture to advance the development of the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project, a 1.8 million metric ton ethane cracker currently planned for construction in San Patricio County, Texas. And, earlier this month, ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum announced a decision to proceed with the development of the Golden Pass LNG export project in Sabine Pass, Texas.
