ExxonMobil to Build New Polypropylene Unit in Louisiana

March 1, 2019

2 Min Read
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Oil and gas firm ExxonMobil revealed plans Friday to construct a new 450,000 tn/yr polypropylene production unit at the company’s complex in Baton Rouge, LA. Slated to become operational by 2021, the new facility is expected to create about 65 new permanent jobs.  

“Growth in feedstock supply along with the increase in global demand for chemical products continues to drive our strategic investments and expansion along the Gulf Coast,” the president of the ExxonMobil Chemical Company, John Verity, said in a company press release. “We’re well positioned to meet the demand for these high-performance products and investing further in Baton Rouge enhances our facility’s competitiveness.”

Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts have been awarded to Jacobs Engineering and Turner Industries for the polypropylene unit in Baton Rouge. The complex in Louisiana houses a 502,000 barrel/day refinery and production plants for lubricants, chemicals, and polyethylene, which are staffed by over 2500 workers. 

ExxonMobil's project come on the heels of the firm’s $20 billion “Growing the Gulf” initiative to improve its manufacturing footprint in the region. The effort includes a new aviation lubricants blending, packaging, and distribution facility in Baton Rouge, expansions of chemical and refining assets at the firm's Baytown and Beaumont plants, a planned 1.8 million mt ethane cracker in Texas, and a LNG export project in Sabine Pass, Texas. 

Work will begin on the new polyethylene unit this year. 

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