Exxon Mobil Corporation said in a press release that it is expanding its manufacturing capacity along the U.S. Gulf Coast through planned investments of $20 billion over a 10-year period “to take advantage of the American energy revolution.”
The projects, at 11 proposed and existing sites, are expected to generate thousands of new high-paying jobs and $20 billion in increased economic activity in Texas and Louisiana.
The White House quickly highlighted ExxonMobil’s announcement both in a press release and through a series of postings on Twitter by President Trump.
Thank you to @exxonmobil for your $20 billion investment that is creating more than 45,000 manufacturing & construction jobs in the USA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2017
Buy American & hire American are the principles at the core of my agenda, which is: JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! Thank you @exxonmobil.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2017
“The United States is a leading producer of oil and natural gas, which is incentivizing U.S. manufacturing to invest and grow,” said Woods, in the press release issued by ExxonMobil. “We are using new, abundant domestic energy supplies to provide products to the world at a competitive advantage resulting from lower costs and abundant raw materials. In this way, an upstream technology breakthrough has led to a downstream manufacturing renaissance.”
“This is exactly the kind of investment, economic development and job creation that will help put Americans back to work,” President Trump said in the White House release. “Many of the products that will be manufactured here in the United States by American workers will be exported to other countries, improving our balance of trade. This is a true American success story. In addition, the jobs created are paying on average $100,000 per year.”
According to the Washington Post, the White House response drew some criticism as it included verbatim significant parts of the ExxonMobil press release while claiming credit for the expansion; even though ExxonMobil’s investment plan was launched in 2013.
ExxonMobil is the largest direct descendant of Standard Oil Company, which discovered oil in the Arabian peninsula and founded what later became Saudi Aramco.
[Click here to read the full press release from ExxonMobil] [White House statement on ExxonMobil announcement]
