Another huge petrochemical facility in the planning stages for Gulf Coast

Fuel Fix:

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Saudi Arabia’s largest chemical company are considering a partnership to build a major petrochemical complex in either Texas or Louisiana along the Gulf Coast.

Exxon and the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp., known as SABIC, announced they’re weighing the venture to take advantage of cheap and abundant natural gas supplies in Texas and other parts of the country. Natural gas is used as the primary feedstock for most petrochemical plants along the Gulf Coast.

Exxon is considering sites in Victoria, Texas, as well as the Corpus Christi area, specifically San Patricio County, among other locations, Exxon spokeswoman Margaret Ross said. In Louisiana, talks continue with officials in Ascension and St. James parishes, both of which are between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

The port access along the Gulf Coast would allow them to produce chemicals and plastics locally and ship them to developing countries in Asia and elsewhere.

“That is vitally important as most of the chemical demand growth in the next several decades is anticipated to come from developing economies,” said Exxon Mobil Chemical President Neil Chapman in the announcement.

Exxon isn’t revealing any details except to say it would represent a multibillion-dollar investment.

SABIC is interested in geographically diversifying its global footprint, said SABIC CEO Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan. SABIC is the largest publicly traded company in Saudia Arabia, but it’s still majority controlled by the government.
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While the Democrat platform has a goal of phasing out all fossil fuels it has no alternative for the products created by the petrochemical business  Indeed, if it tried to shut down it would destroy busiensses large and small around the world that rely on plastics adn other chemicals produced from the petrochemical business.

For example, if you wanted a car that ran on electricity produced from alternative energy, where would you get the plastic that goes into the lightweight production of the vehicle?  Where would you get the material to make the tires its rolls on?  Where would you get the bottles that most consumer products are packaged in?  They do not have an answer.