U.S. labor secretary to pay visit to state
Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin will moderate a discussion with U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on the opportunities and challenges facing the American workforce on Monday in Little Rock.
The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce building at 1200 W. Capitol Ave. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions.
Acosta and Griffin also will tour the North Little Rock School District's Center of Excellence from 9:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at 201 W. 22nd St. in North Little Rock.
The Center of Excellence is a state-approved college and career preparatory charter high school designed around five career pathways -- engineering, computer science, medical professionals, manufacturing and transportation/logistics. Instruction takes place at the center, online and at industry sites.
-- Noel Oman
Exxon, Saudis back plant on Gulf Coast
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Saudi Arabia's state-controlled petrochemicals company have formally approved construction of a new chemical complex in Texas that will process production from the Permian Basin's booming oil and natural gas wells.
The project near Corpus Christi will be the world's largest steam cracker and create $50 billion of "economic output" in the first six years, Exxon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp., known as Sabic, said in a joint statement this week. The facility will convert hydrocarbons such as ethane and propane to ethylene, a chemical used to make everything from plastics to antifreeze.
It's the latest in a slew of chemical and refining plants set for the Gulf Coast, gaining from ultra-cheap production from the Permian, the world's largest shale basin. As explorers boost oil output, associated supplies of gas and liquid byproducts provide some of the cheapest chemical feedstocks in the world.
Situated "on the doorstep of rapidly growing Permian production gives this project significant scale and feedstock advantages," Exxon Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said in the statement.
Earlier this week, BP PLC chief economist Spencer Dale earlier predicted petrochemicals will dominate energy demand growth for the next two decades.
-- Bloomberg News
Arkansas Index falls 1.79, ends at 410.87
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Friday at 410.87, down 1.79 points.
Uniti Group led the gainers, rising 1.80%. Among the losers for the day, Murphy Oil Corp. dropped 2.85% and Arc Best fell 1.97%.
U.S. tech stocks fell, and the dollar strengthened with the release of data showing broad gains in retail sales.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 06/15/2019