b'That dependence officially ended when the first tanker full of Texas crude oil departed the Port of Corpus Christi on January 1, 2016, headed to Europe to be sold on international markets. In the five years since, the Port of Corpus Christi has grown to become the #1 exporter of crude oil in the U.S.that has resulted in our port achieving the status of the #1 port by revenue in the country, and it is the #3 port by gross tonnage. In addition to the ongoing expansion of the ports export facilities for crude oil, now at a capacity of almost four million barrels per day, and the construction of the biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in the country, the low price and abundance of natural gas supplies in South Texas have attracted major industrial facilities to the Coastal Bend.Compared to crude oil, natural gas is more expensive to ship. As a result, industrial manufacturers prefer to locate plants closer to the energy source and close to transportation infrastructure. The North Bay Area, mostly in San Patricio County, offer both, and today more than $50 billion in new projects are under construction. One of those is the Gulf Coast Growth Ven-tures (GCGV) project north of Portland in the tiny town of Gregory, which will make plastic pellets and is a $10 billion investment by ExxonMobil in partnership with the investment arm of the Saudi Royal family. Under its new business plan that takes into account the loss of the U.S. as a crude oil customer, the Saudis have diversified into industries like plastics. With almost 700 new, full-time jobs paying almost $100,000 per year on average, GCGV is the kind of future-changing project that takes bedroom communities like Gregory-Portland to new heights of overall quality of life and opportunity. At least a half dozen projects of similar magnitude are currently under construction in the Texas Coastal Bend.Finding Your Opportunity Christus Spohn Health SystemHCA Corpus Christi Medical CenterPort of Corpus Christi Human Resources Departments (361) 881-3703christushealth.com (361) 761-1000 ccmedicalcenter.com (361) 882-7110portofcc.comAEP Texas Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi Army DepotKiewit OffshoreSteel Dynamics (866) 223-8508aeptexas.com (361) 961-2779ccad.army.mil (361) 775-4300kiewit.com (361) 424-6200steeldynamics.comAir Liquide Corpus Christi PlantDel Mar CollegeLyondellBasellTalen Energy (361) 776-2508airliquide.com (361) 698-2178delmar.edu (361) 242-8000lyondellbasell.com (888) 211-6011talenenergy.comBay Ltd / Berry ConstructionDriscoll Childrens HospitalModa MidstreamTexas A&M University Corpus Christi (361) 693-2100bayltd.com (361) 694-5682driscollchildrens.org (832) 930-4838modamidstream.com (361) 825-2630tamucc.eduBuckeye PartnersFlatiron Dragados LLCNuStar EnergyTurner Industries (361) 288-8870buckeye.com (361) 288-2900harborbridgeproject.com (361) 884-6393nustarenergy.com (361) 248-3005turner-industries.comCelanese Bishop PlantFlint Hills ResourcesOxyChem Terminal InglesideValero Greehey Refinery (361) 584-6000celanese.com (361) 889-7282fhr.com (361) 776-6000oxy.com (361) 289-6000valero.comCheniere LNG / Bechtel EngineeringGulf Coast Growth VenturesPin Oak EnergyVoestalpine Texas LLP (713) 235-2000bechtel.com (844) 280-1993gulfcoastgv.com (888) 748-0763pinoakep.com (361) 704-9000voestalpine.comTheCoastalBend.com THE COASTAL BEND TOUR+RELO+BUILD GUIDE 57'