ExxonMobil Chemical Co. recently announced it has started construction on a multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker at its Baytown, Texas, complex and associated premium product facilities in nearby Mont Belvieu. The steam cracker will reportedly 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. The chemical industry and other industrial sectors account for nearly 30% 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 reportedly 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.

For more information, visit www.exxonmobil.com.