Operations
Beaumont Polyethylene Expansion
Project moves forward with visible above ground progress
Sprouting throughout the expansion site for the Beaumont polyethylene plant are the visible concrete foundations. Most notable is the 11,000 square foot concrete facility that will serve as the Central Control Building for the Beaumont Polyethylene Expansion (BPEX) site. “This is where the brains for BPEX will be housed. Once completed, trained operators will monitor and control the plant facilities from inside a state-of-the-art control room,” says engineer Chris Hahn. But before the control room can get up-and-running, Hahn and others are working to install new utilities such as raw water, electrical power substations and rail utilities among other things. “There are nearly 27,000 feet of new rail here including a new hopper car-wash facility and new BPEX rail sit yard,” says Hahn. The magnitude of what has been accomplished thus far is put into perspective by what is yet to come. “It’s busy now, and we expect to get even busier,” says construction manager Johnny Collado. “By the
end of June, we poured about 3500 cu. yards of concrete for foundations. We expect to pour more concrete for several other foundations and are about 20 percent complete,” says Collado. The construction site is one of the largest ExxonMobil expansion projects along the Gulf Coast, and it’s also providing opportunities for employment to the area. As of June, 30 percent of the skilled craft labor for the polyethylene expansion project came from the local nine county area with workforce anticipated to peak by the fourth quarter of 2017. Although construction opportunities are the most prevalent at this stage of the project, process operators and instrument technicians among other wage employees will also be in demand once the project is completed. “We will need people to fill those positions which presents a great opportunity for the Southeast Texas area,” says Hahn.
Beaumont Polyethylene Plant’s BPEX expansion site.
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