US energy group ExxonMobil has announced a US$20bn investment plan until 2022 to expand its refining and chemical-manufacturing projects in the US Gulf Coast region. The company’s "Growing the Gulf" expansion programme consists of 11 major chemical, refining, lubricant and LNG projects at proposed new and existing facilities along the Texas and Louisiana coasts. Investments began in 2013 and are expected to continue through at least 2022.
More specifically, the investment programme includes the 15.6 Mt/year Golden Pass LNG export terminal project, developed in partnership with Qatar Petroleum International and worth around US$10bn.
ExxonMobil will also expand its Beaumont refining capacity by 20,000 bbl/d to increase the process of light crudes; the company will also increase the production of ultra-low sulfur fuels by approximately 40,000 bbl/d by 2018 and will build a new production unit at the polyethylene plant (+65% capacity increase) by 2019. The light crude refining capacity could be expanded by 2022.
ExxonMobil plans to expand the petrochemical capacity of its Baytown complex (new ethane steam cracker), and is considering building a plastics manufacturing facility along the U.S. Gulf Coast in partnership with SABIC.