Exxon Mobil on Tuesday began production at a new petrochemical facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas, just two months after Hurricane Harvey pummeled the U.S. Gulf Coast and hobbled the U.S. refining and specialty chemicals hub.
The new first of two lines turning out polyethylene — the most common plastic used in manufacturing — will increase the plant's output by 650,000 tons per year. The next line at Mont Belvieu will match that addition and bring total production at the plant to 2.5 million tons per year, making it one of the biggest polyethylene plants in the world.
The facility positions Exxon Mobil to take advantage of the growing market at home and abroad for plastics as emerging markets buy more packaged food and consumer products. Demand for ethylene, the base chemical, is poised to grow by 5.5 million to 6 million tons a year, assuming 2.5 to 3 percent GDP growth, according to IHS Markit.
Exxon will ship a "significant portion" of its polyethylene production from the Mont Belvieu plant from the port of Houston.
"The expansion of our Mont Belvieu facility further enhances our ability to meet growing global demand for high-performance polyethylene products around the world," Neil Chapman, president of Exxon Mobil Chemical Co., said in a statement.
Earnings in Chevron's chemicals business grew by nearly $200 million in 2016 to reach $4.6 billion. Chemical earnings ticked down in the first half of 2017.
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