ExxonMobil is proposing a $240 million-plus investment at its north Baton Rouge refinery that will include upgrades and installation of new technology and equipment designed to make the facility more competitive and efficient.
The company announced its plans last week in coordination with Gov. John Bel Edwards and Louisiana Economic Development, which offered the refinery $20 million in property tax abatements over 10 years under the state’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program to make the deal a reality.
If it happens, the investment in the refinery would create 600 construction jobs annually from 2021 to 2023 and generate an estimated $5 million a year in sales tax revenues. The refinery would also be able to retain 1,300 engineer, operator and technician jobs and has agreed to hire 18 to 24 permanent employees from among the graduates of the North Baton Rouge Training Initiative, though it would not create any net new permanent jobs.
The investment would represent a significant boost for an economy and an industry sector that has been badly battered by the economic fallout created by the pandemic, and comes on the heels of Shell’s closure last week of its Convent facility. For more, see the full story at Baton Rouge Business Report.
