$6 billion petrochemical plants nears operation southwest of Houston

Fuel Fix:

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. has finished building two polyethylene units in Old Ocean, southwest of Houston, a “major milestone” in its $6 billion petrochemical expansion along the Gulf Coast.

The Woodlands-based company, a joint venture of California’s Chevron Corp. and Houston’s Phillips 66, is now testing the units “to ensure a safe and reliable start-up, and consistent, high-quality production,” the company said in an announcement on Monday. They expect operations to start next quarter.

Each unit will produce at least 500,000 metric tons of product annually.
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... The company has already finished a pipeline and storage system for ethylene — a feedstock for the units. It has also built a "state-of-the-art" rail facility with the capacity to store 1,500 rail cars to ship polyethylene pellets to customers around the world.
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The jobs created at this plant are a direct result of the shale gas boom creating by fracking.  The plant will create a major building block of plastics.  It is used in many items from storage containers to automobile parts, including those used in electric cars.  It is also used in making computers and smartphones.  The anti-energy left has no alternative source for this material.