Petrochemical Industry Guide

Houston is one of the world’s largest manufacturing centers for petrochemicals, and the $15 billion petrochemical complex at the Houston Ship Channel is the largest in the country. The famous “Spaghetti Bowl,” a complex of several thousand miles of pipeline connecting 200 chemical plants, refineries, salt domes and fractionation plants along the Texas Gulf Coast, allows convenient and low-cost transfer of feedstocks, fuel and chemical products among plants, storage terminals and transportation facilities.

Houston’s leading edge as the “Energy Capital of the World,” means that energy-related businesses thrive in the region’s economy.

Petrochemical Facts:

  • The Houston-Gulf Coast region has nearly 40 percent of the nation’s base petrochemicals manufacturing capacity
  • Houston has more than 400 chemical manufacturing establishments with more than 35,000 employees
  • Houston dominates the U.S. production of three major resins: polyethelene (38.7% of U.S. capacity); polyvinyl chloride (35.9% of U.S. capacity) and polypropylene (48.4% of U.S. capacity)
  • ExxonMobil’s complex in Baytown is one of the oldest in the area and one of the largest of its kind in the world
  • Houston is geographically close to four ports that make the area’s petrochemicals accessible to the world
  • Houston has two of four largest U.S. refineries
  • Half of all Texas plastics workers are employed in the Houston area

Houston Petrochemicals Downloadable PDF Fact Sheet

Petrochemical Events

The Offishore Technology Conference held yearly in Houston presents the latest exploration and development technology in the energy industry to more than 50,000 attendees