HOW TURNAROUNDS BOOST ECONOMY

ARTICLE PROVIDED BY SHELL DEER PARK

Turnarounds are large maintenance events, but did you know they bring significant direct and indirect benefits to the local economy?

When you think of an industrial turnaround, many images come to mind of the work happening at the site. From the influx of skilled contract partners, to drone flights, cranes, light stands and potential flaring and steam venting. What you don’t see when looking out at the site are the millions of dollars going directly and indirectly into the economy.

In June, Economic Alliance Houston Port Region reached out to Greater Houston Partnershipto run modeling on the expected economic impact of our turnaround event.

The results were: - Short-term with direct and indirect impact a construction project of this size is an estimated a stimulus of over $530.9 million, due in large part to how these dollars circulate many times through our economy with contractors, suppliers, spending at local businesses, etc.

- Long-term, the model estimates this activity supports 1,947 indirect jobs in the Houston region (including hundreds of jobs in support industries like oil & gas exploration and extraction, wholesale trade, maintenance and repair services, truck and pipeline transportation, and numerous professional services such as engineering, accounting, employment and management); an additional 2,633 induced jobs (this includes all the jobs supported by both the wages of the retained jobs and indirect jobs in local industries like restaurants, real estate, hospitals, health services, educational services, and numerous other retailers.)

- Additionally, it estimated the turnaround will have an annual economic impact to the region of $3.9 billion and generate millions in state and federal taxes.

This year, Shell partnered with the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce to help local businesses, including hotels and restaurants, to promote their services to the contract workforce. During peak turnaround activities the site saw an additional 5,000 workers from the U.S. Gulf Coast, with a portion coming from the Greater Houston Area. Partnering with the Chamber is a win-win as it allows workers to explore the local community and contribute to small business.