ExxonMobil Pauses $10 Billion Texas Plastics Plant Following Legal Challenge and Market Conditions
ExxonMobil has paused its $10 billion plastics plant project in Calhoun County, Texas, citing market conditions and following a local legal challenge concerning a tax abatement approval. The proposed facility was intended to produce about 3 million tons per year of polyethylene pellets, expanding Exxon’s Baytown chemical hub and connecting West Texas gas wells to manufacturing centers in Asia as part of a broader fossil-to-plastic strategy.
The legal challenge came from Diane Wilson, a 77-year-old shrimper from Seadrift, Texas, who sued the Calhoun County school board for violating open-meeting laws when approving the tax abatement for Exxon. A district judge ruled against the board's approval in late September, and Exxon paused the project within approximately two weeks.
Wilson is notable for her prior landmark case against Formosa Plastics, which led to a $50 million Clean Water Act settlement due to the dumping of plastic pellets into Lavaca Bay. Although Formosa did not admit liability, the settlement funds supported local ecological restoration projects and the establishment of the Nurdle Patrol, a grassroots monitoring initiative.
This pause at Exxon follows a growing regional movement of grassroots activism pushing back against large fossil fuel and plastics projects along the Gulf Coast, including efforts like Sharon Lavigne’s campaign against Formosa Plastics in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. These campaigns exemplify local demands for accountability amid expanding fossil fuel infrastructure.
The situation also reflects larger global tensions between climate policy and industry expansion. The article references COP30 in Belém and notes that over 5,000 fossil-fuel lobbyists have gained access to UN climate talks in the past four years, highlighting the challenges of aligning fossil fuel interests with global climate goals.
