PORTLAND, Texas (AP) — A South Texas school board has approved an estimated $1.2 billion in tax breaks to entice Exxon Mobil Corp. and its Saudi partner to build a $9.3 billion petrochemical plant within its district along the Texas Gulf Coast.
The six-member Gregory-Portland Independent School District board's unanimous vote late Tuesday adds to a $210 million tax package passed a day earlier by San Patricio County commissioners.
Exxon and Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp. are considering a 1,300-acre (526-hectare) site in Portland, just north of Corpus Christi, for the world's largest ethane steam cracker plant. It would convert natural gas into chemicals used for plastics.
The plant also would provide thousands of jobs.
The school board vote came despite a petition signed by 1,500 people who oppose the plant.