Multi-billion dollar gasoline manufacturing facility coming to Ector County

A rendering of the facility in Penwell, Texas.
A rendering of the facility in Penwell, Texas.(Nacero Inc.)
Published: Apr. 22, 2021 at 8:35 AM CDT

PENWELL, Texas (KOSA) - A multi-billion dollar gasoline manufacturing company is coming to Ector County.

Nacero Inc., a company based out of Houston, announced Wednesday that it plans to build a $6.5-7 billion lower-carbon gasoline manufacturing facility at Penwell in two phases.

The first phase will see the facility produce 70,000 barrels per day of gasoline. The second phase will increase the capacity to 100,000 barrels per day.

According to a release, the gasoline produced at this facility will not contain sulfur and will have half the lifecycle carbon footprint of traditional gasoline. The gasoline will be made from a combination of natural gas, captured bio-methane and mitigated flare gas.

Around 3,500 workers will be employed during the four-year construction of phase one of the facility. Once the facility is operational, it will employ 350 full-time operators and maintenance personnel with an annual salary of approximately $85,000.

Nacero says the facility’s electricity will come from renewable sources, with most of it being produced by solar panels located on-site. According to Nacero, this facility will be the first in the United States to make gasoline from natural gas and the first in the world to do so with carbon capture and sequestration.

“Ector County is the ideal location for us,” said Nacero President and Chief Executive Officer Jay McKenna. “From a geographic and logistics standpoint you can’t beat it. We will be a major new market and beneficial home for the natural gas that is currently flared in the Permian basin. Our zero-sulfur gasoline will reduce ground level ozone in cities across Texas and the Southwest, which is causing illness and limiting economic growth.”

Construction is set to begin before the end of the year.

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