Tag: Brazosport

Building the Industry: Brazoria County’s Petrochemical Story

Posted on by tabithamwalles

Brazoria County’s story is one of resilience, innovation, and progress. It is a story of people —visionaries, workers, and leaders — who built industries that shaped the world.

The early 1900s started with oil being found near West Columbia igniting a new era of opportunity. In 1912, innovation took hold as Brazoria County became the first in the U.S. to produce sulfur, a breakthrough that sparked economic expansion. The Freeport Sulphur Company, bustling with hundreds of workers by 1930, was more than a business — it was a sign of a growing, thriving community. And during World War I, Brazoria County’s resources, including live oak nails, helped build the warships that defended our nation.

Then came the 1940s, and with them, a wave of transformation. In 1940, Dow Chemical saw the promise of Brazoria County and built the largest magnesium plant in the United States, just in time to supply the essential materials needed for World War II. This wasn’t just industrial progress — it was a technological breakthrough. Extracting magnesium from seawater seemed impossible, yet Dow made it reality. And to support the workers who powered this vision, Dow built more than a plant; they built a town. Lake Jackson was carefully designed as a model community, offering families a place to live, thrive, and grow together.

At the same time, war efforts demanded more, and the U.S. government turned to Brazoria County once again. The Sweeny Complex was built in 1942, the only refinery designed and built from the ground up by the U.S. military to produce high-octane fuel for Allied aircraft. When the war ended, Phillips Petroleum saw its value and purchased it in 1947 for $13 million, cementing its place as a cornerstone of American industry.

As the decades passed, Brazoria County never stopped innovating. Through the years, other leading petrochemical manufacturers saw the benefits of doing business in Brazoria County and moved to the region, further solidifying its reputation as an industrial powerhouse.

The dawn of the 21st century brought yet another leap forward. In 2002, Freeport LNG was founded, transforming Quintana Island into a hub of energy trade. What began as an import facility soon pivoted to exports, and by 2019, it had become one of the world’s most significant liquefaction sites. Today, it ranks as the seventh-largest in the world and second-largest in the U.S., setting the gold standard for sustainability as the largest all-electric LNG plant globally.

Brazoria County is more than a place on a map—it is a testament to human ingenuity, to industries that rose from the ground and changed the course of history. Built by industry, strengthened by innovation, and sustained by the hardworking people who drive it forward, this county stands on the shoulders of giants. As we look ahead, we honor their legacy by continuing to lead, to grow, and to shape the future.

Brazoria County Petrochemical Council Looks at Sustaining Operational Excellence through Human Performance at Symposium

Posted on by tabithamwalles

Freeport, TX (March 11, 2025) – To err is human. Finding ways to improve future performance is
smart. That was the message at the Brazoria County Petrochemical Council’s (BCPC)
Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) committee’s recent Sustaining Safety Excellence
through Human Performance symposium. The event was held Feb. 13, 2025 at the Brazosport
Safety Council in Freeport.

Presenters included BCPC member companies LyondellBasell and Chevron Phillips Chemical
talking about why and how they are focused on improving human and organizational
performance. The keynote speaker was Bob Catinazzo, Executive Vice President of Operations
for PPI Global, a leading provider of safety and culture transformation solutions.

Symposium Highlights

  •  People can’t continue to do the same thing and expect different results
  • Historically human errors have been addressed at an individual level, but most errors
    are caused by systemic drivers influencing a person’s behavior
  • Systems, processes and procedures need to be made more error resilient
  • Leaders need to understand where they can implement safeguards to make it easier to
    succeed and harder to fail
  • Building a proactively accountable culture is a path to reducing human error and risk

The highly-attended symposium ended with company representatives and work teams talking
with the presenters about how they were going to look for areas that could be improved on.

 

About the Brazoria County Petrochemical Council
The BCPC consists of more than 25 member companies producing thousands of raw materials and
intermediate products used in everyday life, resulting clean water and energy, safe food packaging,
effective hygiene products, lifesaving medicine and medical equipment, advanced electronics,
sustainable construction materials, affordable clothing and safe and fuel-efficient automotives.
The annual economic output for the companies associated with the BCPC is $12+ billion. The total
economic impact of the industry supported $24 billion in total spending. Through its member
companies, BCPC employs 12,259 full-time direct employees, 75% of them living in Brazoria County. For
every job created directly by the industry, another 2.85 jobs are created, resulting in 39,995 indirect and
induced jobs. Our employees contribute over 35,000 hours of volunteer service the community each
year.

Industry to pay for Surfside Beach Playground

Posted on by bcpetrocouncil

New equipment for Surfside Jetty Park will be made wholly from recycled plastics….

ANGLETON — Fifteen Brazoria County petrochemical companies have partnered to bring a new playground to a county park made from recycled plastics.

The representatives from the Brazoria County Petrochemical Council assembled Tuesday morning before commissioners’ court to announce the $210,000 donation. The money will allow the county to replace the playground at Surfside Beach Jetty Park, which had to be removed because it became a hazard after long-term exposure to the elements.

Representatives of the Brazoria County Petrochemical Council and Brazosport County Parks Department pose with county commissioners Tuesday after announcing the BCPC would donate $210,000 to provide a playground made of recycled plastics for Surfside Jetty Park.

“Anytime you look at investing dollars into something like that, you’re talking about some serious dollars. So we were prepared to go back to the drawing board,” Brazoria County Parks Director Bryan Frazier said. “What could we put out that would last a little longer?” The petrochemical council reached out about that time suggesting a partnership and asking what potential projects the parks department would have in mind. Installing playground equipment made from recycled plastics jumped to the top of the list.

“It gives the interpretive message of what we are all about anyway, which is, ‘Don’t throw your plastic bottles on the ground,’” Frazier said. “Do something positive with them; recycle them. And they answered the call.”

Contributors to the council’s donation include MEGlobal Americas, Dow Chemical, BASF, Freeport LNG, Shintech, K-Bin, Shin-Etsu, Olin Corp., Port Freeport, DSM, Vopak Industrial Infrastructure Americas Freeport, Ineos, Phillips 66, Chevron Phillips Chemical and LyondellBasell.

It likely will be about six months after the new equipment is ordered before the playground is open, Frazier said. The department hopes to place the order as soon as possible, and it will take several months to arrive, he said.

The $210,000 donation should cover most if not all of the cost of the equipment and installation, Frazier said.

https://thefacts.com/news/industry-to-pay-for-surfside-beach-playground/article_1e84ed07-9062-5235-bf57-fe8051ece01f.html

 

CAER REPACKAGED BRAZOSPORT INDUSTRIAL ALERT SYSTEM CHANGING WITH THE TIMES

Posted on by bcpetrocouncil

CAER Repackaged Brazosport Industrial Alert System Changing the Times

Times are changing, and so is Brazosport’s CAER program as the area’s booming industrial center continues to grow.

CAER, or Community Awareness and Emergency Response, is an organization that promotes two-way communication between the community and industries in the area. It acts as a link between the two in order to provide Brazoria County residents with information in the event of an industrial emergency.

The program is comprised of about 20 industrial partners in the Brazosport area who work with CAER on a volunteer basis. Partners include Dow Chemical Co., BASF and Freeport LNG, CAER Vice President Reme Lara said.

“Every member’s goal is to keep their employees and the community safe; that’s why they are a part of CAER,” Lara said.

Rachel Ray, Harold Nicoll, Darren Slover, Greg Yount, Reme Lara, Tabitha Ray volunteers from CAER pose with their booth.
Rachel Ray, Harold Nicoll, Darren Slover, Greg Yount, Reme Lara, Tabitha Ray volunteers from CAER pose with their booth.

Brazosport CAER formed in 1985, making it one of the first CAER programs in the nation. Since it began, Brazosport CAER has worked to continually promote better communication with residents concerning chemical emergencies, the organization says.

Many of the methods it has historically used, however, have been superseded by technological advances. For instance, a database of home phone numbers won’t provide the extensive reach it did in past decades as many people no longer have landlines. There also are tens of thousands of new residents in the region who might not be aware of CAER and the important role it plays.

Program members recently have been working to completely revamp and revitalize CAER by changing communication methods and increasing awareness of the program, community awareness chairwoman Tabitha Ray said.

“Our community is completely different from when we were first founded,” Ray said. “We have had a lot of growth, new people have moved to our community and there has been a lot of change in technology. It is vital that CAER change as well.”

One of the ways it has changed it by getting upto-date with social media and creating Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, with the latter two being the newest additions, Lara said. Brazosport CAER currently has 1,300 Facebook followers.

“We want to be the link between the industry.”

https://thefacts.com/article_97578223-3601-5728-b073-57391f9c60e9.html