Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) will expand capacity again at its refinery in Beaumont, Texas, less than a year after a previous expansion was announced.
According to the Beaumont Enterprise, the expansion announced July 26 will cost $450 million, create 750 construction jobs and add five permanent jobs.
The expansion will increase production of ultra-low sulfur fuels by approximately 40,000 barrels per day, Exxon said in a press release. The project will install a selective cat naphtha unit, which removes sulfur while minimizing octane loss.
San Francisco-based Bechtel has already begun design work. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2016, and the unit is expected to start up in 2018.
“This project represents the largest capital investment in our Beaumont refinery operations in more than a decade, and will benefit the local economy with both temporary and full-time jobs,” Fernando Salazar, manager of the Beaumont refinery, said in Exxon’s release.
Last August, Exxon announced it would expand the refinery’s capacity by approximately 20,000 barrels a day. That expansion is currently underway.
Exxon’s operations in Beaumont include the currently 345,000-barrels-per-day refinery, as well as chemical, lubricants and polyethylene plants. The Beaumont Enterprise also notes the company has been considering building a polyethylene plant at its petrochemical complex, which would cost more than $1 billion, create 1,400 construction jobs and add 40 permanent jobs. The company has approximately 2,100 employees in the Beaumont area.
In the Houston area, Exxon employs thousands of people at its new 385-acre campus in Springwoods Village.
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