Georgia-Pacific Chemicals will expand capabilities at its Lufkin, Texas, facility to increase production of resins used to coat proppants for oil and gas extraction.

"This expansion will help us capitalize on an exciting growth opportunity in the energy field," says Michael R. Roberts, vice president, GP Chemicals. "It allows GP Chemicals to better serve our customers in this segment and to support the expected growth in demand for resin to coat proppants. This coating helps provide the proppant with additional strength and the ability to withstand stringent operating conditions."

The need for resin for proppants is driven by the rapid growth of hydraulic fracturing in the last few years. The use of proppants in hydraulic fracturing results in much higher recovery rates of oil and gas than previously possible. The process has enabled oil and gas extraction from deposits that were impractical to tap, increasing the United States' natural gas and oil production capacity.

"In addition to the work already underway at the Lufkin facility, we continue to evaluate additional manufacturing expansion in this segment," says Rick Urschel, president of GP Chemicals. "The ability to maximize the recovery of oil and natural gas from U.S. reserves is a goal of the energy industry. This manufacturing expansion will help our customers meet the growing demand for products that can assist in addressing that goal."

Georgia-Pacific LLC, of which GP Chemicals is a subsidiary, is owned by Koch Industries. This investment in Texas is the latest in a long history of investment in the state by Georgia-Pacific and other Koch companies. In Texas, Koch companies employ more than 5,600 people directly and support nearly 33,000 Texas jobs in total. Total annual compensation and benefits of Koch companies' employees is approximately $650 million in Texas.