Steven Prusak calls it performance by design, caring by choice.
The president and chief executive officer of Chevron Phillips Chemical delivered that message directly to local community members while discussing the construction of the Golden Triangle Polymers plant in Orange County.
“We are very much a group of engineers, scientists and accountants, so the performance side, the metrics, matter,” he said. “But we really do try and do it in a fashion where we demonstrate we care for each other and the communities in which we operate.”
Golden Triangle Polymers (GTP) is a joint venture of Chevron Phillips and Qatar Energy.
The $8.5 billion facility has an expected completion and startup in late 2026 or 2027. Along the way, 4,500 construction jobs are forecasted.
Prusak, who said the effort took nine years of development before the ceremonial groundbreaking in 2023, spoke Thursday morning on campus at Lamar State College Orange during an event organized by the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce.
H.B. Neild Construction is proud to be part of the team that is building the project’s maintenance, warehousing, laboratory and fire and medical buildings.
GTP celebrated H.B. Neild and others Tuesday afternoon for the closure and dry in of all building structures on site.
Prusak stressed that Chevron Phillips has operated a facility in Orange County since the 1950s and has long committed to giving back to local communities.
“There have been over 2,100 people from the nine county Golden Triangle region who have been hired in some capacity,” he said. “In the community last year, we gave $700,000 to organizations.
“We’ve estimated that the financial benefit over the next 20 years to this community is somewhere in the neighborhood of about $50 billion when you just add up the construction phase and all of the ripple effects that creates.”
Next phase
Construction is approximately halfway done, with most of the buildings on site visible to passersby.
Prusak, who joined Chevron Phillips soon after its inception in 2000, acknowledged traffic is an issue. He offered a heartfelt “thank you” to all residents for “putting up with us.”
“We’ve had roughly 200 barge transfers and about 400 modules and large pieces, and we’re expecting to finish that up (soon),” he added. “This is an important year, this is the make-or-break year for the project. We’ve got to continue to drive our construction progress forward and hold it up for all 52 weeks of the year. I’m confident that we will, and that will set us up for a successful startup next year.”
He projected approximately 600 permanent employees at the site when operational and noted half were already hired — “hopefully, they are thriving in this community.”
Prusak described the global tariff environment as creating “some challenges and uncertainty.”
“Having said that, I am 1,000 percent confident that this is the right investment, and this facility will be incredibly successful and profitable, not only for the venture but also for the community,” he said.
“I like the fact I can tell the story with complete confidence that what’s going on here goes all the way back to the well heads in the Permian, ties back into energy superiority, ties into jobs and it ties into making America strong and thriving.”
Orange County Judge John Gothia helped close out the community meeting by saying it’s a great time for Orange County.
“This venture has been great for this community,” he said while addressing the GTP team. “We know the people who are getting these jobs. I can name a whole lot of them who’ve got great jobs and they’re extremely happy about it.
“We wanted the opportunity for our kids to go to school here and then have an opportunity for a job here. Yall are providing it. We want to thank you all for that investment in Orange County.”
Company leaders say the Golden Triangle Polymers facility will create high-density polyethylene resins, which are used by our customers to create a variety of end-use products like piping for water irrigation, packaging applications to keep food fresh and containers for personal care products. More information is available at goldentrianglepolymers.com.