Construction of an EOG Resources plant is well underway northeast of Refugio on U.S. 77. The facility will provide fracturing sand for oil field use.

Upon completion, the plant is expected to add up to 10 full-time local jobs.

Approximately 100 workers will be used during construction.

“EOG is pleased to be in Refugio,” said Curtis C. Parsons, EOG’s general manager of shared services. “We respect the communities where we operate and strive to be a good neighbor.”

The target completion date of the plant is May 2011. The site will include 22 storage silos, each 120 feet tall, on a 222-acre tract.

When the facility is completed, EOG will transport sand by trucks equipped with enclosed trailers for use in its drilling operations in the Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas.

“This is a great thing for the county,” said Lenny Anzaldua, economic development director. “Unfortunately, due to our lack of rental property, we will not realize the full potential of the 100 workers it will take to build this facility.”

Depending on what phase of construction, the facility will hire up to 100 workers, according to Terry Landrum of Cahuna Ventures of Southeast Oklahoma, the on-site representative for EOG.

The facility will add a rail spur for transportation of special sand to the facility.”

With headquarters in Houston, EOG is one of the largest independent oil and natural gas companies in the United States, with proven reserves in the United States, Canada, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and China.

“This company will benefit the city and county, not only because it adds jobs but because the company will purchase goods and services here and pay taxes,” Anzaldua said. “EOG favors a decentralized business model, where the employees live and work in the same community where they have operations.”