Partnerships abound among Mont Belvieu industries

July 9, 2025

This is the second part of a three-part story on the Mont Belvieu Area Chamber of Commerce’s State of Industry. 

The industries in and around Mont Belvieu believe strongly in partnership.

When multiple industry representatives gathered at the Mont Belvieu Area Chamber of Commerce’s State of Industry luncheon in June, they discussed how they have formed relationships with other industries, creating a stronger coalition of companies that benefit from each other’s success. 

Travis Brown, ExxonMobil Mont Belvieu Plastics Plant’s business team leader, said the history between ExxonMobil and Mont Belvieu began in 1982 when they built their first unit. 

“It has continued to increase most noticeably,” Brown said. 

Brown said that in 2017, the Mont Belvieu plant was a part of the North American Growth Project. Brown said they produced about 10 million pounds a day from that facility. 

“And (we also produce) about 15 million pounds per day out of the total ExxonMobil facility, which is a tremendous amount,” Brown said. 

Brown said their products are used in many things, such as cups, bottles and plastics.

“So, as the world grows, we grow it,” Brown said. 

Brown said that TALKE USA is there “each and every day” helping them manufacture their products, which are shipped to the Port of Houston and then distributed worldwide. 

“It’s a pretty intricate operation that is very delicate,” Brown said. “I’m sure you see the top of trucks going through the community. They help us and are a critical component of that.”

Brown said they produce the polyethylene pellets, which are placed in 25-kilogram bags. 

“That’s what you see the 18-wheelers take into the port,” Brown said. “So, it is not a very complex operation, but the sheer volume of it is really eye-opening.”

Richard Heath, TALKE president and CEO, who Brown called a “critical partner,” said he feels like the new kid on the block considering the long histories of other industries in Mont Belvieu. 

“As far as our agreement with Mont Belvieu Plastics Plant is concerned, that dates back about 10 years now. I think in 2015, we were in the first discussions with ExxonMobil about the new plant, which was being designed and built at the time,” Heath said. 

Heath also mentioned the trucks.

“We have a very high focus on ensuring that that transportation is safe and is reliable,” Heath said. “That also involves keeping it away from the communities, and trying to keep it away as much as possible from traffic, especially school traffic. So, we’ve worked very hard in training responsible drivers. There’s no better advertisement for us than if somebody comes up and says that your drivers were behaving well on Highway 146.”

Heath said the fleet itself is state-of-the-art. 

“We invested in all new equipment when we came to the United States and started this operation. It’s all company-owned,” he said. “They’re also company-owned drivers. So, the drivers are really 100% integrated into our organization and the ExxonMobil operations as well.”

Heath said TALKE has been working with ExxonMobil in other parts of the world since the late 1970s, providing drive-out transportation and other warehousing and packaging services. 

“So, we were very grateful for the opportunity to make our first move into the United States eight years ago, with the support of an important contract from ExxonMobil,” Heath said. 

Heath said his company will soon open warehouse operations in Mont Belvieu.

“That’s an ongoing project at the moment,” he said. 

Heath also mentioned a plastics recycling project being conducted in close cooperation with Chambers County and Mont Belvieu that includes a support center in the area. 

“This is going to be a location where any post-consumer plastics collected within Chambers County can be brought to our location on Langston Drive,” Heath said. “We will be then bailing them, storing them and they will then subsequently move to a company called Cyclyx.”

Heath said Cyclyx is partially owned by ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell and the Cyclyx Circularity Center is being built in Houston. 

“This will be a feeding spot for that Circularity Center and ultimately that product goes back to ExxonMobil in their advanced recycling as well,” Heath said. “I think we’re all very excited to be part of that chain as well, moving away from only producing virgin plastics but also making good use of plastics again and giving them a totally new life. So, we’re very excited to be part of that project.”

Justin Wolf, ONEOK director of operations for the fine products and food business segment, said service is one of the core values of his company.

“And our service to the community is a key part of that,” Wolf said.

Wolf said ONEOK has a regional community investments committee. He added that they are Texas-wide, but the majority are in the Houston area. 

“Last year, we had over 2,000 volunteer hours from our employees in local communities,” Wolf said. “And through the committee, they provide over $440,000 in funding.” 

Wolf added that ONEOK is a proud partner of the United Way of Greater Baytown and Chambers County. 

ONEOK has experienced some growth over the past few years, Wolf said. 

“In mid-2023, actually, we had three business segments,” he said. “And we acquired general and midstream partners, which actually increased our footprint in the Houston area substantially, and added our fine products, businesses and crude oil.

“And we’re looking for more growth in the future that’ll really enable us to continue to invest in the community.”

Wolf said ONEOK completed construction on its MV-6 fractionator at the end of last year. The company is also working on a joint venture with MPLX to build a terminal in Texas City, which includes a large pipeline connected to the Mont Belvieu storage facility. 

“We also have a significant underground storage facility in Mont Belvieu and the company’s fractionation is primarily in the city,” he said. 

Wolf said ONEOK has fractionated more than 1.2 million barrels of gas, mostly in Mont Belvieu.

Wolf said the project is scheduled to be completed by early 2028. 

Read part three about the Mont Belvieu Area Chamber of Commerce’s State of Industry in a future edition of The Baytown Sun.