PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — Petroleum company Chevron Corp. said Monday that it will build a $1.4 billion lubricants plant in Pascagoula, Miss., a project that will create roughly 1,000 construction jobs over the next two years.
The facility will extend Chevron's existing refinery in Pascagoula, which employs more than 1,600 workers. It will produce base oil, in particular, a motor oil ingredient that Chevron says improves fuel economy, lowers tail-pipe emissions and extends the time between oil changes. In addition to motor oil, base oil is used to make lubricants for high-tech machinery and equipment used in the commercial and industrial sectors.
When complete, the plant will produce at least 25,000 barrels of base oil per day, doubling Chevron's manufacturing capacity and making the company the world's largest producer of premium base oil.
The oil produced there is expected to serve the North American, Latin American and European markets.
The project will create about 20 permanent positions once the plant opens. Construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013.
Shares of Chevron rose $1.21, or 1.3 percent, to $94.58 in midday trading.