ExxonMobil is moving forward with a more than half-billion-dollar expansion of its polyolefins plant in Louisiana, the oil and gas giant's largest local capital project in nearly a decade.
The final investment decision, announced Friday, comes a year after Exxon first said it was considering the project in north Baton Rouge, and just weeks after the company warned it might reduce its local investments after being rejected for two unrelated tax breaks by the East Baton Rouge school board.
The Advocate reports construction will begin this year. It is expected to add 45 permanent jobs, 20 permanent contractor jobs and support 600 temporary construction workers.
The project will add a new polypropylene line with a capacity of 450,000 tons a year, a unit that will start up in 2021.