BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont officials are excited about a $4 billion expansion project that is set to bring thousands of jobs to the area.
At a Thursday Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Mayor Robin Mouton announced that the OCI Mercury Project was awarded to OCI Beaumont. Mayor Mouton is excited for the project means for the city.
The expansion is set to bring thousands of construction jobs to Beaumont.
More on: Read the full OCI press release here
"Which is going to bring in thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs,” Mayor Mouton said. “So, I'm so excited about that, because at the time that we were preparing for today, we did not know that."
The OCI project involves the DuPont plant located inside Beaumont city limits. OCI took over the facility. The project looks to expand the current facility.
“You know DuPont shut down, and OCI took over in that area,” Mayor Mouton said. “That's an expansion that's one of the largest expansions in our city.”
The OCI Beaumont currently serves as an integrated methanol and ammonia production facility located near the Gulf Coast in Nederland. The facility will use the gulf to serve the US market and export clean ammonia as a hydrogen carrier to hydrogen-deficit markets around the world, such as Europe and Asia.
OCI official plan to build a world-scale 1.1 million ton per annum blue ammonia project in Beaumont. Blue ammonia is produced from hydrogen derived from natural gas where the CO2 by-product is captured and sequestered, according to an OCI release.
The project began earlier in 2022. OCI officials said they are excited to work with Jefferson County and the City of Beaumont.
“We are also very excited to extend our partnerships with Jefferson County, the City of Beaumont, Beaumont ISD, the special districts, and the State of Texas,” Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of OCI N.V., said. “Their efforts continue to make South-East Texas an attractive place to do business and we look forward to continued development in the area and working together to position the region as a clean energy leader.”