Refinery Funding Delayed, but Rusk County Project Said to Be on Track

RUSK COUNTY — Plans for a $181 million refinery in Rusk County remain on track, though slightly behind schedule, after the company involved requested an extension on the timeline to secure funding, a spokesman for Gregg County Refining said Wednesday. KETK and the Longview News-Journal report the company received approval for issuing $181 million in tax-exempt bonds this summer, with Nov. 15 set as a deadline to secure financing by selling those bonds. Rob Latsha, spokesman for the bond review board, which administers the tax-exempt bond program, said Gregg County Refining filed for an extension Nov. 15 on the deadline for funding. Latsha said several companies, including ExxonMobil, also have applied for the tax-free bonds should Gregg County Refining not be able to secure financing.

But John Kennon, vice president of business development for Community Education and Development, the consulting firm handling the finance portion of the refinery project, said Wednesday that the request for an extension was granted by the governor’s office and the project will come to fruition. “It is complex,” Kennon said. “There are so many little details. Snags are expected in a project like this. We anticipated we would need a little more time. We asked for it and received it.” He said one reason for the complexity of getting the project off the ground lies in its rarity. The refinery, planned on 165 acres on Texas 323 near New London, will be the first of its size built in the United States in more than 30 years, Kennon said. It will refine light sweet crude oil into gasoline and diesel