Greater Houston Home to $15 Billion Worth of Projects Under Construction

Written by Danny Levin, Deputy Editor for IIR News (Sugar Land, Texas)

---

Summary

Industrial Info is tracking $15 billion worth of projects that are under construction in the Houston metropolitan area, with the activity spread out across a variety of major industrial sectors such as chemicals, manufacturing, and oil and gas.

---

Chemical Projects Under Way in the Greater Houston Area

The Greater Houston area in Texas covers 10,000 square miles and nine counties, making it a hub of industrial activity.

According to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database, the Chemical Processing Industry leads all industries in total investment value. The activity includes two projects totaling $800 million from LyondellBasell Industries NV (Rotterdam, Netherlands), both of which are expected to begin commercial operations in 2028. The company's addition of a metathesis unit in Channelview, Texas is designed to convert ethylene to produce an estimated 882 million pounds per year of propylene.

Also underway is a new glacial acetic acid (GAA) unit at the company's LaPorte complex. According to a fact sheet on the site, it is the third largest producer of GAA in the world. "GAA is mainly used in the production of VAM [vinyl acetate monomer]. VAM is used in household latex paint, adhesives, food packaging, wire and cable coatings and automotive safety glass."

Subscribers to the Chemical Processing GMI database can view the related project reports.

Manufacturing Activity in the Greater Houston Area

The Institute of Supply Management's (ISM) October Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) for the Greater Houston area--which tracks economic activity for a number of manufacturing sectors--showed activity improved month-over-month (reaching 49.4%). This indicates slower contraction and approaching expansion territory. Readings more than 50 generally indicate that respondents see their activities as expanding.

Two manufacturing projects--both of which are expected to wrap up next year and will support power generation--are in Brookshire, about 35 miles west of Houston. Tesla's (Austin, Texas) new battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing plant will increase production of the company's "Megapack" batteries, which are used in BESS installations across the country. Hiring for the project is underway, and it is expected to employ at least 375 people by the end of 2026, 750 by 2027 and 1,500 by 2028, according to a social media post from Elon Musk.

Meanwhile, Waaree Energies (Mumbai, India), through its Waaree Solar Americas Incorporated unit, is at work building out an expansion of its solar panel-manufacturing plant. The project is designed to bring the capacity to 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of panels per year, with the potential to scale to 5 GW by 2027.

Subscribers can read more information on the BESS and solar manufacturing projects.

Oil & Gas Projects

The Greater Houston area features projects under construction in the Oil & Gas Production, Terminals and Pipeline industries, including three that are expected to wrap up next year:

• Production: Targa Resources Corporation's (Houston, Texas) $500 million Train 11 addition at its Cedar Bayou Fractionator in Mont Belvieu is designed to produce 150,000 BBL/d of high-purity butane, propane and ethane (see project report.)
• Terminals: a life extension project at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's (SPR) Bryan Mound site, one of four SPR storage sites along the Gulf Coast that store crude oil in underground caverns. The project entails replacing equipment, piping, bridges and other systems, as part of an effort to extend the SPR's life by 25 years (see project report.)
• Pipelines: Major modifications on two compressor stations as part of the Texas-Louisiana Expansion Project, attributed to Natural Gas Pipeline of America (NGPL). The overall project is designed to add as much as 300 million standard cubic feet per day of capacity to the system's mainline. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the modifications in Devers and New Caney, Texas.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects under construction in the Greater Houston area.

Key Takeaways

• The Greater Houston area is home to $15 billion worth of projects under construction, according to Industrial Info.
• Industrial sectors accounting for project activity include chemicals, manufacturing and oil and gas.
• Two major manufacturing projects will support power generation.

---

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).