Exxon Eyes $240MM Baton Rouge Projects

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) might invest more than $240 million at its Baton Rouge, La., refinery, the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) department reported last week.

“ExxonMobil has operated in Baton Rouge for more than 110 years and has provided high-quality jobs for decade at the integrated refinery and chemical plant complex,” remarked Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards in an LED written statement emailed to Rigzone.

According to LED, the proposed suite of projects would improve the 517,000-barrel-per-day refinery’s processing capability, increase flexibility for meeting market demand, boost overall site competitiveness and install technology that would voluntarily cut volatile organic compound emissions by 10 percent. LED added the projects are pending final engineering, design and investment decisions, and the agency pointed out that ExxonMobil next year could decide to proceed.

“The 2019 announcement of the company’s decision to progress the Baton Rouge polypropylene project, combined with this potential investment, demonstrates that ExxonMobil has confidence in the future of Louisiana and in our outstanding workforce,” commented Edwards. “Louisiana looks forward to working with ExxonMobil to make this investment happen.”

Edwards was referring to ExxonMobil’s Nov. 2019 groundbreaking for a more than $500 million polypropylene project that will double capacity at the Baton Rouge Polyolefins Plant.

LED stated the projects announced last week would retain 1,300 existing jobs at the refinery and support 600-plus onsite construction jobs over a three-year span. The state agency noted the $240 million-plus in projects would create more than 20 full-time job opportunities for graduates of the North Baton Rouge Industrial Training Initiative, an ExxonMobil-backed initiative that provides no-cost, fast-tracked industrial craft training to locals.

“We are proud of our long history in Louisiana, and I’m very excited about the positive potential of this investment for ExxonMobil and for the state, especially during this challenging economic time for industry,” stated ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery Plant Manager Gloria Moncada. “This suite of projects positions our site for future investment at our refinery and chemical plants in Baton Rouge. We look forward to working with Gov. Edwards and our local community stakeholders in partnership as we move toward a final decision.”

To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.