The Economic Alliance, Houston Port Region's current project pipeline includes 31 projects whose combined capital investment totaled $7.6 billion, reported Regina Lindsey, vice president of economic development, for the organization.
Taken together, these projects are responsible for the creation of 3,169 jobs both inside and outside the fence. Of the 31 projects, there were a total of five project wins and one assist.
One of the five projects includes Next Wave Energy's expansion. In 2020, Pasadena will welcome Next Wave Energy to the region, she commented.
Located on a 53-acre site in Pasadena's industrial district and adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel, the facility will focus on converting ethylene to alkylate, a gasoline blending component that is one of the cleanest petroleum products currently used, stated Lindsey.
The impetus for the project stems from a growing demand for additional octane and an abundance of domestic suppliers of natural gas liquids according to Next Wave Executive Chairman Patrick Diamond. With the continued rise of American LPGs and the ease with which they are transported to the Houston Ship Channel, facilitated by our pipeline infrastructure, this commodity continues to remain in demand. Additionally, blending terminals with easy dock access were attractive in the company's decision to locate here. Next Wave is one of five wins this year and is set to establish a firm footing in the region. Its expected investment totals $600 million, and it is anticipated to create 750 temporary jobs and 30 permanent jobs.
The Economic Alliance also partnered with the Pasadena EDC to facilitate a Texas Tax Code Chapter 313 Agreement, the Texas Economic Development Act, which is a tax incentive on school district taxes and to transfer permitting from the City of Pasadena to Harris County, which will benefit both parties.
The Baystar Polymers project on Port Road was a $300 million capital investment chemical project that was a joint venture between three foreign-owned companies (Total, Nova and Borealis). The Economic Alliance became engaged on this project back in 2016, which came to us through our partners at the Greater Houston Partnership, and aided in incentives, local industrial agreements, permitting and infrastructure throughout the process.
The INEOS ESPN (Enhanced Specialties Production in North America) project is located on Port Road. The new facility will be constructed within the current INEOS Styrolution site which currently houses the world's largest styrene monomer plant. The new plant also will be accompanied by significant infrastructure improvements including product warehousing and new rail facilities.
The Sprint Waste Service services project is a great example of the indirect impact that large-cap petrochem manufacturing projects have throughout the region. The state of Texas doesn't have a carbon regeneration site, so Spring Waste Services, which hauls expended carbon out of state for processing will now build a facility in the North Channel area that will allow facilities to recharge and reuse carbon locally that goes into environmental equipment that cleans the air. The Economic Alliance worked closely with partners in Precinct 2 to facilitate the permitting of this project. There will also be road improvements made to support the project near the new facility.
