$10 billion Exxon-Saudi project concerns Texas communities

PORTLAND, Texas - Dewey Magee has a "Keep Christ in Christmas" bumper sticker on his Chevy pickup. His wife, Victoria, wears a Rush Limbaugh T-shirt. They're more focused on raising chickens than fighting climate change.

But the Magees, who have lived in this small city north of Corpus Christi for nearly 45 years, have become accidental activists, helping to lead the fight against a $10 billion petrochemical plant that would be built a half-mile from their home by Exxon Mobil Corp. and the Saudi Basic Industries Corp., or SABIC. Looking out a window toward the site, a 1,400-acre stretch of cotton fields, he worries about noise, pollution and the long-term health effects on his community, particularly his 10-year-old grandson who lives next door and struggles with asthma.

"They're dangling the money, but it just seems like the devil looking you in the eye and whispering about millions of dollars," Magee said. "I get that we need jobs and to feed our families, but we need to protect them first."

The Magees are part of a fierce opposition to a petrochemical complex that has promised thousands of construction jobs, hundreds of permanent positions and millions in tax revenues - a rare case in a state that is typically eager to accept new development, particularly by the energy industry. The Corpus Christi area has long been a center of refining and petrochemicals, with plants packed along a 10-mile stretch of tanks, tall stacks and flares known as "Refinery Row."

But opponents here say a massive new petrochemical plant would represent a tipping point. Residents not only voice fears of environmental degradation and health impacts but also of a fundamental change in the character of this quiet bedroom community of fewer than 20,000.

The largest proposed petrochemical project in Texas would be built from scratch and would include the world's biggest ethane cracker, which turns a component of natural gas into ethylene, the primary building block of most plastics, as well as other plastics manufacturing operations. The companies say the site will include green spaces and half-mile buffer around the plant, which could begin operations as soon as 2021.

"We want to come in as a good neighbor," said Robert Tully, Exxon's project executive for the joint venture. "We want people to say, 'They really did try to blend in with the community and didn't just stick a plant there.'"

Residents of Portland say their way of life is already under pressure from industries encroaching from the east and the port city of Ingleside. They worry the Exxon-SABIC plant, which would be built just outside the city limits to the north and west, could represent the beginning of a new industrial corridor along Highway 181 that would rival or exceed "Refinery Row," an area plagued by higher rates of cancer, asthma and birth defects, according to a 2016 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Pastor Mark Miller of Portland's Oak Ridge Baptist Church - located about a mile from the potential Exxon site - said his community has reached a crossroads.

"This place will change and it will not be the same - not just from this plant, but others that follow," said Miller, who has not taken sides in the debate. "People moved here because it's a smaller community, not Corpus Christi. It's changing around them and that's difficult. They'll either adapt or find another smaller place to live."

Rapidly evolving

Portland and Gregory, the other city abutting the proposed site of the plant, were first settled in the late 1800s and developed as Corpus Christi bedroom communities. The area's first industries were developed in the 1950s, when Reynolds Metals built a factory east of the cities. The plant was shuttered last year under the ownership of Sherwin Alumina, which filed for bankruptcy.

Michael and Jenny Mauldin moved to the outskirts of Portland more than 20 years ago, with plans to retire there. But now, they find themselves three-tenths of a mile from the proposed chemical plant. If the plant is built, they said, they'll try to move, but doubt they'll find a buyer.

"We moved out here for big sky, quiet nights. You could still see the stars, and that's already going away," Jenny Mauldin said. "Portland will be Exxon's garbage can."

Exxon and SABIC, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian government, announced in July they would form a joint venture to build a Gulf Coast petrochemical plant to take advantage of Texas cheap and ample natural gas produced from the shale boom. After considering three other sites - one in Texas, two in Louisiana - they came to favor Gregory-Portland in San Patricio County because of its access to natural gas pipelines, as well as the proximity to ports, railways, highways and housing.

While huge, the project is still less than half the size of Exxon's nearly 100-year-old Baytown campus east of Houston that's grown over the decades, including an expansion slated for completion later this year.

The focus now rests on the seven-person Gregory-Portland Independent School Board, which could decide as soon as February whether to grant the project a property tax break at the site. While the school board can't reject the plant, the tax incentive could go a long way toward Exxon and SABIC deciding to move forward. Exxon says the tax breaks are important but not necessarily critical.

Residents began getting riled up this summer over the loud humming emanating from a new iron plant built just east of Portland by the Austrian company Voestalpine. Just as these concerns about industrial encroachment were growing, Exxon and SABIC announced San Patricio County as a finalist for the petrochemical plant. In another instance of bad timing, Exxon and SABIC disclosed that San Patricio County was their preferred site at the end of last year, not long after, Corpus Christi suffered a water contamination crisis blamed on activity near Valero Energy's refinery and asphalt terminal.

"The timing maybe couldn't have been worse," said Tully, of Exxon.

Tully said he understands people's fears about a plant near their homes, but added that the companies would be sensitive to their concerns and the surrounding area. Exxon and SABIC have promised a "clean, safe and responsible complex" with new technology that would dramatically reduce emissions.

"We understand there's going to be some opposition no matter where we go," Tully said.

Like a good neighbor

Part of what's kept Exxon and SABIC from making a final decision are the $460 million in property tax breaks they're seeking from the school district, as well as from the San Patricio County Commissioners Court. The commissioners are waiting on the school board, but County Judge Terry Simpson is a strong advocate of the project.

Any energy project carries potential peril, Simpson said, but the potential jobs and tax revenues outweigh the risks.

Exxon and SABIC in late December and January launched a media blitz with mailers, phone calls, focus groups, online advertising, T-shirts and other promotions. The mailers promise a generation of jobs and a thriving local economy with 11,000 temporary construction jobs and about 600 permanent positions. The aerial project renderings focus on the green spaces, water fountains and buffer zones, while placing the chemical and plastics plant facilities in the background.

Those have hardly softened opponents, who formed the group, "Portland Citizens United," which has aggressively lobbied local officials. Exxon and SABIC were caught off guard when the Portland City Council, which has no jurisdiction since the project is beyond city borders, last month passed a non-binding resolution opposing the project, encouraging the companies to build elsewhere.

The fight intensified earlier this month at a school board meeting to discuss the tax abatement. No decisions were made, but at least 40 protestors showed up with red "Portland Citizens United" shirts, air pollution masks and signs like "Health over Wealth." Business groups backing the project, including the San Patricio Economic Development Corp. and United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, handed out green "United for Growth" T-shirts to supporters.

Those supporters include Jessica Ortiz, of Gregory. "We need to bring some jobs to the area," said Ortiz, a dispatcher for a trucking company. "When the oil fields slowed down, so did a lot of the work."

The tax abatements Exxon and SABIC are part of a state program designed to help Texas better compete with other states for businesses and jobs. Critics call it a corporate giveaway that would otherwise fund education.

Exxon officials are admittedly nervous the school board could reject the tax breaks. But they're adamant that won't make or break the project.

"The school board decision is an important one for us, but it is not the only factor," Tully said. "We could still build here."

And that's what concerned Magee, as he looked at the undeveloped site from the window of his home.

"I'm doing a lot of praying and a lot of cussing," Magee said, "and then I'm going to the pastor to say I'm sorry about the cussing."