Exxon to invest $2B into Baytown petrochemical expansion

Exxon Mobil will pour $2 billion into expanding its Baytown chemical complex, creating 2,000 construction jobs and further cementing the region's role as a petrochemical hub.The Baytown expansion will allow Exxon to play off its rising oil and gas production in the Permian Basin to capture growing global demand for petrochemicals. Now it appears that at least a part of that increased gas production will go to 3,400-acre Baytown complex to be turned into chemicals that go into plastics. The flood of natural gas — the feedstock for many chemicals and plastics —  from the Permian and other Texas shale formations has driven the petrochemical boom along the Gulf Coast."Our Baytown chemical expansion will put us in a solid position to maximize the value of increased Permian Basin production and will deliver higher-demand, higher-value products produced at our Gulf Coast refining and chemical facilities," said Darren W. Woods, ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. "Global demand for chemicals is expected to be greater than energy demand growth and GDP growth over the next 20 years."