The Department of Energy is assessing the potential environmental impacts for its proposed action of issuing a Federal loan guarantee to TX Energy, LLC (TXE). TXE submitted an application to DOE under the Federal loan guarantee program pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) to support construction of the TXE Industrial Gasification Facility near Beaumont, Texas.

TXE is a subsidiary of Eastman Chemical Company (Eastman) and proposes to develop the Facility on a 417-acre parcel of land. The Facility would utilize gasification technology with petroleum coke (petcoke) as the feedstock to produce synthesis gas (a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) commonly referred to as syngas) and molten sulfur. The majority of the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from clean-up of the raw syngas would be captured and transferred from the Facility via a newly constructed pipeline spur (no longer than 2 miles) to a new pipeline for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR); CO2 not captured would be vented. A portion of the syngas would be processed further to produce pure H2, the majority of which would be sold via a newly constructed pipeline. The balance of the syngas and a portion of the H2 would be piped to a nearby, existing plant via two separate newly constructed 1.5-mile pipelines for processing to methanol and ammonia that would be sold or used by Eastman, the plant owner.