ExxonMobil’s potential US investment to increase capacity by up to 450,000 tons a year

ExxonMobil has announced engineering work has started on a potential U.S. Gulf Coast project to expand polypropylene manufacturing.

ExxonMobil says the facility will increase capacity by up to 450,000 tons a year to meet growing demand for high-performance, lightweight durable plastics.

The new facility will produce advanced polypropylene products used in high performance automotive, appliance, and packaging applications, creating over 600 jobs and more than 60 permanent jobs when production starts.

This investment is one of 13 new facilities planned to grow ExxonMobil’s chemical manufacturing capacity in North America and Asia Pacific by 40 percent.

ExxonMobil believes these investments, including two world-class steam crackers in the United States, will enable the company to meet increasing demand in Asia and other growing markets. 


“ExxonMobil is well positioned to take advantage of the growing global demand for higher-value products, in both North America and the high-growth Asia Pacific region,” said John Verity, President of ExxonMobil Chemical Company.

“Abundant supplies of domestically produced oil and natural gas have reduced energy costs and created new sources of feedstock for U.S. chemical manufacturing. Most of our planned investment in the Gulf Coast region is focused on supplying emerging markets like Asia with high-demand products, which ultimately will spur new economic growth locally.” 


Advanced polypropylene materials reduce vehicle weight, which helps improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

Modern plastics and polymer composites can replace steel in applications and comprise 50 percent of a new car’s volume but only 10 percent of its weight. 


“Polypropylene delivers performance and sustainability benefits to produce a wide variety of consumer products,” said Cindy Shulman, ExxonMobil’s Vice President of plastics and resins.

“It’s a versatile material providing high impact resistance and high stiffness to lightweight applications. It is safe, can be recycled and requires less energy to produce when compared with other plastics.” 


A final decision on the investment is expected later this year with the facility start-up to come as early as 2021.