< Previous74 TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE by ADAM BRUNS PETROLEUM REFINING & CHEMICALS Where Legacy Tomorrow MeansTEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 75 W hen U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright in early March 2025 approved a liquid natural gas (LNG) export permit extension for Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC (Golden Pass) in Sabine Pass, Texas, it was the third LNG-related approval since President Donald Trump took office, marking, the DOE said, “yet another step toward meeting President Trump’s and Secretary Wright’s commitment to unleash American energy dominance and restore regular order to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export reviews.” The move reinforced a fact that’s often taken for granted: Energy dominance comes as naturally to Texas as boots, barbecue and a well- worn Stetson. Take LNG alone. September 2024 analysis of LNG in Texas by the state comptroller’s office found the following facts: • Exports of Texas LNG were valued at $9.1 billion in 2023, accounting for 27.3% of the value of LNG exports nationwide. The state’s two operational LNG liquefaction export terminals are Corpus Christi LNG and Freeport LNG Development, both of which had three trains operating. • Four LNG terminals actively under construction have a combined investment of at least $49 billion. • The increase in export facilities in Texas has resulted in a 273% increase in LNG exports since 2019, when only four trains were operational. In 2023, the state exported more than 1.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf), accounting for 31% of U.S. LNG exports. Over a decade of tracking major corporate facility investment projects in the oil & gas extraction, processing and pipeline sectors, Site Selection magazine’s Conway Projects Database has documented more than 350 projects in North America since 2015. An astounding 220 of them (62%) are in Texas, with more than one- quarter in Harris County alone (Greater Houston). (ABOVE) Baker Hughes opened its new 1,300-employee headquarters in Houston’s Energy Corridor in October 2023. Photo courtesy of Baker Hughes (FACING) An LNG export permit extension granted by the federal government in March 2025 will grant additional time to begin LNG exports from the Golden Pass LNG Terminal currently under construction in Sabine Pass, Texas. Photo courtesy of Golden Pass LNG76 TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE Add in the chemicals sector and the numbers expand like a chemical reaction: 175 over the past decade and nearly 40 investments of at least $1 million, 20 new jobs or 20,000 new sq. ft. of space since January 2023. Among the top projects in this sector are a number of semiconductor-related investments driven by that industry’s pronounced and expanding footprint in the state, including South Korea’s fast-growing Soulbrain investing $575 million in Taylor to serve the needs of Samsung’s $17 billion fab investment there. The project is but one part of what the Semiconductor Industry Association in March 2025 characterized as over $540 billion in semiconductor supply chain investments in the United States since March 2020. Structures Build on Infrastructure Since as recently as January 2023, the projects continue to come, no surprise, from some of the biggest names in this global industry: ExxonMobil, Baker Hughes, Schlumberger, Weatherford International, Occidental, Mitsui. And they’re not only in Greater Houston. In March 2024, Liberty Energy broke ground for a new $50 million facility in Leeco Industrial Park in Odessa, aided by a $2.5 million grant under a five-year agreement with the Odessa Development Corporation. The project adds another 500 full-time positions to a site that already employs 1,000 people. “We are in the business of bettering human lives, and there is no better place to make that happen than in Odessa, Texas, the heart of the Permian Basin,” said Chris (ABOVE) When it comes to traditional energy resources, Texas natural gas supply and infrastructure continues to lead the pack. Map courtesy of EIA (FACING TOP) The 105-year-old ExxonMobil Baytown Complex spans 3,400 acres and employs around 7,000 people. The company plans to build a plant at Baytown that would produce up to 1 billion cubic feet per day of hydrogen. Photo courtesy of ExxonMobilTEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 77 Wright, Liberty CEO. “In partnership with our customers, Liberty is dedicated to producing affordable, reliable and secure energy that enables the modern world.” Moreover, the corporate projects are backed by infrastructure that is in parallel growth mode. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s most recent update of its Natural Gas Pipeline Projects tracker, 54% of the 6.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of new takeaway capacity coming online via five new pipeline projects completed in 2024 is attributable to two Texas pipelines: Whitewater Midstream’s Matterhorn Express Pipeline can deliver up to 2.5 Bcf/d of natural gas from the Permian Basin to the Katy, Texas, area, while Pecan Pipeline Company’s Verde Pipeline can move up to 1.0 Bcf/d of producer EOG Resources’ natural gas production from Webb County, Texas, in the Eagle Ford producing region to the Agua Dulce hub in southern Texas. Meanwhile, the new ADCC Pipeline operated by Whitewater Midstream can move approximately 1.7 Bcf/d of natural gas to the Corpus Christi Stage 3 LNG project, co-located with the existing Corpus Christi LNG terminal. 80 TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE I s it possible for a single state to count in its workforce one-tenth of the nation’s professional services and corporate operations employees? It sounds far-fetched, but it’s true in the case of Texas. About 3 million people work in the state’s business services and corporate headquarters and financial services clusters. That’s equal to the population of Iowa or Arkansas. Not only does the sector account for 10% of such workers in the U.S., but it also accounts for 8% of the industry’s contribution to the national GDP. The business services and corporate headquarters cluster includes a range of industries, including software and computer programming, outsourcing, legal and marketing services and others. Employment in these fields grew 56% between 2011 and 2021. As for corporate headquarters, think of Texas as a magnet. Since 2015, 314 companies have relocated their headquarters to Texas — half of which moved from California. Fifty-two Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Texas; the Houston metro is home to 25, and the Dallas-Fort Worth- Arlington metro has 24. by MARK AREND Where Headquarters And Now Securities Exchanges Migrate PROFESSIONAL SERVICES & CORPORATE OPERATIONS Dallas is now home to the recently launched Texas Stock Exchange, NYSE Texas and a Nasdaq regional headquarters. Photo: Getty ImagesTEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 81 “Texas is the headquarters of headquarters,” said Gov. Abbott in a June 2023 statement. “With our strong and growing workforce and welcoming business climate, Texas is where businesses find the freedom to flourish, and people find opportunities to prosper. ‘Made in Texas’ is already a powerful global brand. With significant, continuing investments in education and training, workforce development, infrastructure and innovation, we are building an even brighter Texas of tomorrow for generations to come.” Move Over, Wall Street — Welcome to Y’all Street It’s on the financial side of the professional services cluster where Texas is giving financial fortresses like New York City a run for their money. Nearly a million people already work in banking, commodity trading, brokerage and other financial- sector businesses. Now securities exchanges are establishing footprints in the Lone Star State. In September 2024, Gov. Abbott announced the planned launch of the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) during a press conference at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, joined by TXSE Group Inc. Founder and CEO James Lee, former U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, members of the Texas Legislature and other business and community leaders. In January 2025, TXSE filed Form 1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as it seeks to establish the premier venue for listings, with high standards centered on quality, along with a fully electronic, innovative platform for trading. TXSE will be headquartered in Dallas and plans to serve U.S.-based and international issuers, investors and market participants. NYSE Comes To Texas In February 2025, Gov. Abbott also celebrated the announcement by the New York Stock Exchange, part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), of plans to launch NYSE Texas, a fully electronic equities exchange to be headquartered in Dallas. “Texas is the most powerful economy in the nation, and now we will become the financial capital of America,” said Gov. About 3 million people work in the state’s business services and corporate headquarters and financial services clusters. That’s equal to the population of Iowa or Arkansas.82 TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE Abbott at the announcement. “With the launch of NYSE Texas, we will expand our financial might in the United States and cement our great state as an economic powerhouse on the global stage. I thank the New York Stock Exchange for choosing Texas. Working together, we will continue to advance pro-growth economic policies that allow entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive and will make Texas stronger and more prosperous than ever in the history of our great state.” NYSE Texas officially opened on March 31, 2025. Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. (TMTG), which operates the Truth Social media platform among other brands, is the first new stock to list on NYSE Texas. “We’re honored to become the initial listing for NYSE Texas, which is a great fit for TMTG as we diversify into financial services and other realms,” said TMTG CEO and Chairman Devin Nunes. “Texas provides a fantastic climate for business and entrepreneurship that aligns with TMTG’s mission.” Nasdaq’s Big D Plans At a March event in Dallas attended by the governor, Nasdaq announced a new regional headquarters will open in the city, underscoring the technology marketplace’s commitment to Texas. Nasdaq reports it currently generates over $750 million in revenues in Texas and the Southeast region of the U.S., partnering with over 2,000 clients, approximately 800 of which are based in Texas. Nasdaq is home to over 200 listed companies headquartered in the state, representing $1.98 trillion in market capitalization as of December 2024. The event in part recognized the contributions of entrepreneur Ross Perot, Jr., chairman of Hillwood and the Perot Companies, to Texas’ economy. “We’ve seen an acceleration over the past decade in the growth of the financial sector in Texas,” said Gov. Abbott. “And that growth continues today, with Nasdaq announcing its going to have a regional headquarters here in the great state of Texas. There is not a more diversified state economy anywhere in the United States of America, and that is because of leaders like Ross Perot, Jr. “Texas has become the home of capital of the United States,” he continued, “and now it is just a natural evolution for Texas to become the home of capital markets in the United States. Texas truly is the epicenter of business in the United States.” “ With the launch of NYSE Texas, we will expand our financial might in the United States and cement our great state as an economic powerhouse on the global stage. ” — Greg Abbott, Governor of TexasEvolving priorities open new avenues for a stalwart Texas industry. by GARY DAUGHTERS TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 83 MINING AND RARE EARTH MINERALS A mong the many economic sectors in which Texas is a national leader, mining flies under the radar. Yet the Lone Star is identified in the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2025 Mineral Commodities Survey as America’s second- ranked producer of minerals, its 2024 valuation having reached $9.7 billion. Texas produces more crushed stone, dimension stone and cement than any state in the country and is ranked No. 2 for construction sand and gravel. It’s also a leader in limestone production. “We’re not talking gold or silver, but a lot of stuff that most people might consider somewhat boring,” says Brent Elliott, research associate professor at the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. Boring, perhaps, but economically crucial. Indeed, the vast majority of Texas’ mineral production goes toward construction, reflecting the state’s growth spiral. It’s hardly a coincidence that Texas also leads the nation in cement consumption. Access to the booming Texas market was a motivation for Ireland’s CRH to pay a whopping $2.1 billion last year for a collection of assets from Martin Marietta Materials, anchored by the 2,000- acre Hunter Cement Plant in New Braunfels. The plant’s annual production capacity of 2.4 million tons ranks it among the top 10 in the United States. CRH also claimed ownership of cement terminals in the Houston and San Antonio regions, as well as 20 concrete plants spread across San Antonio, Austin, Round Rock and Bastrop. “Our ability to leverage our cement expertise and technical capabilities will enable us to enhance and optimize our existing footprint in Texas, resulting in significant synergies and A Mining and Minerals Giant Uranium, a chemical element. Photo: Getty ImagesNext >