The energy company has filed applications with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for permits to build an ethane cracker at its Baytown complex and two high performance polyethylene lines at its nearby plastics plant in Mont Belvieu.
Exxon says the review and approval process from government regulators should take about a year. It would then decide whether to move forward with the project. The company estimated Friday that the expansion could involve about 10,000 construction jobs, then 350 permanent jobs once the new facilities would be up and running in 2016.
Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Baytown complex already is the largest in the nation.
