The last oil refinery built in the United States was this Marathon Petroleum plant in Garyville, Louisiana, completed in 1976. It has since been expanded and employs about 950 people. Maryville is between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Courtesy photo
The first new crude oil refinery to be built in the United States in nearly 40 years is slated to begin construction soon in Duvall County, located about 120 miles southwest of Corpus Christi. Raven Petroleum, based in Houston, plans to build a $500 million refinery called the South Texas Energy Complex by the end of 2018. The proposed plant will be capable of processing 50,000 barrels of light sweet crude oil a day from the Eagle Ford Shale oil play. The finished product will be sold in Mexico.
Founded by managing director Christopher Moore of Houston, Raven Petroleum is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raven Resources Group, LLC. This latest project is aimed at helping Mexico overcome its shortfall in domestic oil production, which fell from 3.5 million barrels a day in 2003 to 1.9 million barrels in 2014.
According to a report from Bloomberg News, Mexico is struggling to meet its petroleum demands and facing major fuel shortages. Raven plans to produce and transport diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, gasoline and liquified petroleum gas products to Mexico, which opened its energy market to foreign imports in 2013.
Construction will require about 1,800 workers. The complete facility will employ about 500 people. It is expected to be built on 832 acres of land purchased by Raven Petroleum in Duval County. The property borders Webb and Jim Hogg counties on Texas 359.
Included in the refinery are plans for two inbound and two outbound trains, along with storage capacity for 4 million barrels of oil.
The project is expected to be a boon for the 11,388 people living in Duvall County, which had an 11.9 percent unemployment rate as of September. Work Force of South Texas and Coastal Bend College are expected to help with the hiring process.
