A proposed $5.6 billion Chevron Phillips chemical plant will get a 100 percent tax abatement on “eligible improvements” for a maximum of 10 years. The company, though, will pay property taxes on the 1,700 acres of land that is to be the site of the plant. The company will also pay sales taxes on purchased goods.
Orange County Commissioners Court Tuesday unanimously approved the abatement agreement. The vote drew loud and extended applause from an audience that packed into the courtroom and overflowed into the hallway.
However, Chevron Phillips did not commit to building the new plant in Orange County. Chaney Moore, the company’s real estate and property tax manager, said after the vote the company announcement will not be made until the fourth quarter of this year. In the summer last year, he predicted an announcement during the second quarter of 2020.
Orange County Economic Development Director Jessica Hill said local officials “are confident that Orange County is the preferred site.”
The project could bring “as many as 10,000” construction jobs. The plant with an ethylene cracker will have about 500 permanent jobs at an average annual salary of $100,000. Deals like this are not often made, she said.
The abatement is under the Texas Tax Code 312 agreements approved by the state legislature.
She emphasized the agreement is not a rebate to Chevron Phillips. The abatement removes the property tax obligation the company will pay to the county during the period.
Hill told commissioners the company could pay an estimatedd $206 million in sales taxes for materials during the construction period.
The agreement includes Chevron Phillips having a trade show for local vendors to showcase their products. The company will also work with local educators to help train workers. Also, the company will set up a website for “how to do business” with them.
Not everyone was pleased with the action. A 94-year-old man said he is “100 percent against this Chevron.”
Trudy Pellerin of Bridge City also opposed the project because of air pollution and the possiblity of explosions.
The acreage for the plant is between Highway 87 South and FM 1006, which is known locally as “Chemical Row” because of the miles of petrochemical plants lining the highway.
Gulf Chemical, which later became Chevron, built a plant there in 1955. That plant is still operating and is across the street from the site for the new plant.
Pellerin also said the project will cause “traffic like Houston.”
“How about an amusement park like Disney?” she asked commissioners.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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