A $2.4 billion expansion to Valero Energy Corp.'s Port Arthur refinery will require 2,000 workers when construction reaches its peak, the plant manager said Friday.

The expansion also will create more than 30 permanent jobs on completion, Valero general manager Greg Gentry said.

Valero will be building its project at about the same time as other major industrial projects like Total Petrochemicals' and Motiva Enterprises' refinery expansions.

When Valero's board approved the project Thursday, Gentry said the corporation's directors discussed labor availability.

"We will be working with Motiva and Total to look at their peak workloads and ours to try and match these up so we're not stepping on each other's toes too much," Gentry said.

Motiva and Total also will require thousands of industrial construction workers in the next several years.

Eastman Chemical Co. also plans to build a new synthetic gas plant in Beaumont, which will result in more demand for workers.

Work is ongoing at the Golden Pass and Cheniere Energy liquefied natural gas terminals on both sides of Sabine Pass.

Announced projects total at least $15 billion so far.

Gentry said coordination will not be perfect, but should help ensure an adequate labor supply is available for all projects.

The expansion announced Thursday will increase Valero's Port Arthur refinery capacity to 415,000 barrels per day from 325,000 barrels.

The project includes the construction of a 45,000 barrel-per-day coker, a 50,000 barrel-per-day hydrocracker and changes to other units, particularly in the removal of sulfur from the heavy Mexican crude oil it imports,

The refinery will emphasize ultra-low sulfur diesel production.

The upgrade will make the refinery the company's largest among its 17 and the second largest in the region after Motiva expands its capacity of its Port Arthur refinery to 600,000 barrels per day.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Beaumont Enterprise, Texas. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Related Project
Port Arthur Refinery
Facility Type: Refinery Owner: Valero Energy Corp.
Scope: Expansion Location: Port Arthur, TX United States