Dow Chemical's board has authorized the company to finalize the engineering plans and to begin purchasing equipment for a "world-scale" propylene plant near the company's Freeport Complex in Texas. You can read more about why a new petrochemical plant makes sense in a recent article published here - Eagle Ford NGLs Adding to U.S. Supply Growth. The announcement is a big step in what is really becoming a petrochemicals renaissance in our country. It was just a few years ago that industry experts thought there would never be another pet-chem plant built in the U.S., but that was before the shale plays really burst onto the scene. The Eagle Ford, along with many others, have changed the cost of doing business in our country. That's a big win and this is why:
Dow expects the new facility will:
- Create 1,300 jobs at the height of construction
- 40 contractors and 80 new Dow employees will be needed to maintain & operate the facilities
This is the perfect example of what domestic energy can do for the economy. This plant would have been undoubtedly built in a different region of the world before shales began adding low cost oil & gas supply. It's also why measuring the direct impact of a play like the Eagle Ford is difficult. Do you consider the jobs created by the Dow plant as Eagle Ford Jobs? I doubt many will, but I can guarantee this plant would have been far less likely without it.
“The availability of cost-advantaged feedstocks from U.S. shale gas developments represents a value-creating opportunity for our downstream businesses, and Dow is capitalizing on this,” said Brian Ames, vice president of Olefins, Aromatics and Alternatives. “Our Company was among the first in our industry to declare a comprehensive plan to take advantage of the increasing supplies of U.S. natural gas liquids, and we remain on track to implement that plan, which will create thousands of domestic jobs.”
Read the entire press release at dow.com