ExxonMobil to spend $20 billion for US Gulf Coast downstream expansions

ExxonMobil Corp. will invest $20 billion over a 10-year period to expanding its chemical manufacturing capacity along the US Gulf Coast to support increased exports to overseas markets.

The Growing the Gulf expansion program will cover major chemical, refining, lubricant, and LNG projects at 11 proposed new and existing manufacturing sites in Texas and Louisiana, ExxonMobil said.

Most of the new chemical capacity that will come online as part of the program will target export markets in Asia and elsewhere, the company said.

“These projects are export machines, generating products that high-growth nations need to support larger populations with higher standards of living,” said Darren Woods, ExxonMobil’s chairman and chief executive officer.

The investment decision is a result of growing US oil and natural gas production amid rising demand abroad, Woods said.

“The supply is here; the demand is there,” Woods said. “We want to keep connecting those dots.”

ExxonMobil, which started the investment in 2013, said it expects to continue investing into the program at least through 2022.

The company offered no additional details regarding specific projects or capacities to be developed as part of the $20-billion program.

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].