ExxonMobil plans $20 bn investment to expand manufacturing in US

It will make investment, spread over 10-year, in major chemical, refining, lubricant & LNG projects

Last Updated : Mar 07 2017 | 3:42 PM IST

Exxon Mobil Corporation will invest $ 20 billion for expanding its manufacturing capacity along the US Gulf Coast over a 10-year period to take advantage of the American energy revolution.

Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer, ExxonMobil, stated, “The US is a leading producer of oil and natural gas, which is incentivising US manufacturing to invest and grow. We are using new, abundant domestic energy supplies to provide products to the world at a competitive advantage resulting from lower costs and abundant raw materials. In this way, an upstream technology breakthrough has led to a downstream manufacturing renaissance.”

The projects, at 11 proposed and existing sites, are expected to generate thousands of new high-paying jobs and $20 billion in increased economic activity in Texas and Louisiana, Woods added.

ExxonMobil is strategically investing in new refining and chemical manufacturing projects in the US Gulf Coast region to expand its manufacturing and export capacity. The company’s ‘Growing the Gulf’ expansion program, consists of 11 major chemical, refining, lubricant and liquefied natural gas 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.

Woods said that ExxonMobil’s Gulf expansion projects are expected to provide long-term economic benefits to the region, noting the creation of direct employment opportunities and the multiplier effects of the company’s investments.

According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC), chemical manufacturing is one of America’s top exporting industries, accounting for 14 percent of overall US exports in 2015, and exports of specific chemicals linked to shale gas are projected to reach $ 123 billion by 2030. Most of ExxonMobil’s planned new chemical capacity investment in the Gulf region is targeted toward export markets in Asia and elsewhere.

“These projects are export machines, generating products that high-growth nations need to support larger populations with higher standards of living. Those overseas markets are the motivation behind our investments. The supply is here; the demand is there. We want to keep connecting those dots,” explained Woods.