ExxonMobil is making moves that will help bring more jobs to Houston.
The oil company has announced announcing plans for a two-billion-dollar expansion of its chemical plant next to the Houston Ship Channel. A new unit at the Baytown plant will produce ingredients used in engine and industrial oils, and will make chemical compounds that give plastics more flexibility and elasticity.
The company says the project will create two-thousand temporary construction jobs and that the new unit should begin operating in 2022. No word on how many permanent jobs will result.
CEO Darren Woods said the expansion will help Exxon take advantage of its oil and natural gas production in the Permian Basin.
The company believes global demand for chemicals will grow faster than demand for energy over the course of the next 20 years.