Greater Houston Boasts Billions in Planned Q4 Project Kickoffs

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Greater Houston region in Texas, which covers 10,000 square miles across nine counties, is home to a wide range of industrial activity. Industrial Info is tracking $4.5 billion worth of projects that are planned to kick off construction during the fourth quarter in the area, with the activity spread out across a variety of major industrial sectors such as refining, oil and gas, and manufacturing.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed project reports.

The highest-valued project is Marathon Petroleum Corporation's (Findlay, Ohio) $850 million addition of a distillate hydrotreater unit at its Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, which Industrial Info is tracking with a kickoff date in October. The company expects the 90,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) unit to upgrade the refinery's high-sulfur product to ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), which is attributed to stronger fuel efficiency and engine performance, as well as lower emissions.

The project is expected to wrap up by year-end 2027. Subscribers to the GMI Petroleum Refining Project Database can read a detailed project report.

According to the company website, the refinery, which is located off the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel, can process a wide variety of crude oils into gasoline, distillates, natural gas liquids and petrochemicals, heavy fuel oil and propane. Products are distributed via pipeline, barge, transport truck, rail and ocean tanker.

The Greater Houston area is known as a hub of oil and gas activity, and Targa Resources Corporation (Houston) is preparing to begin construction on the $500 million Train 12 addition at its Cedar Bayou Fractionator in Mont Belvieu. The new train, which is expected to begin operations in 2027, is designed to produce 150,000 BBL/d of high-purity butane, propane and ethane. The $500 million Train 11, which will feature a similar capacity, is expected to begin operations next year. Train 12 will bring the entire complex's natural gas liquids-production capacity to 1.36 million BBL/d.

Subscribers to the Oil & Gas Project Database can read detailed reports on Train 12 and Train 11.

Another project set to kick off next quarter is designed to support the expansion of the export of commodities from the Houston Ship Channel system. Part of the port's $1 billion Project 11, Expansion 3 is designed to widen the Barbours Cut Ship Channel--a tributary to the larger channel--from 300 feet to 455 feet, among other work aimed at allowing the port to handle Neo-Panamax container ships that carry up to 15,000 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs). According to the port website, dredging activity is underway. Subscribers can click here to read more information on the project, which is expected to wrap up by year-end 2026.

Earlier this year, Port Houston said Project 11 was funded to completion, following $161 million in funding allocated in President Donald Trump's fiscal-year 2026 budget request. "As the largest energy port in the entire world, Project 11's success is essential to maintaining Texas' and the United States' energy dominance," said Congressman Wesley Hunt (R) in a press release.

Subscribers 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.

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).