Tax break of over US$460 mln clears way for Exxon Mobil and SABIC to begin construction at Corpus Christi, Texas

23-Mar-17

Exxon Mobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corp., (SABIC) were given more than $460 million in tax breaks by the San Patricio County Commissioners on Monday, clearing the way for the two companies to begin construction on a US$10 bln petrochemical complex north of Corpus Christi, Texas. The Gregory-Portland School Board voted 6-0, with one abstention, to approve tax abatements that would extend for more than 15 years.

The chemical plant, the largest proposed in Texas, would create an estimated 11,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent ones and feature the world’s biggest ethane cracker, which processes a component of natural gas into ethylene, the primary building block of most plastics. Exxon Mobil and SABIC have not yet given the project the green light, but are likely to now that they have the tax breaks in hand. If built, the plant will be located just outside the city limits of Portland and Gregory.

However, the tax votes do not guarantee the project will come to fruition. The next step for Exxon and SABIC is getting permitting in place. Exxon project executive Rob Tully said the company was encouraged by the vote and hopes to start filing permits for the project by April. “We can’t put a stick of steel in the ground until we get a permit,” Tully said.