page_title: Texas City, Texas
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Texas City, Texas / Economy
caption_attribution_description: View of Texas City, TX, from the north end of town where TX 146 crosses over Loop 197/25th Avenue
context_page_description: Texas City is a city in Galveston County in the U.S. state of Texas. Located on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, Texas City is a busy deepwater port on Texas' Gulf Coast, as well as a petroleum-refining and petrochemical-manufacturing center. The population was 50,094 in 2019, making it the third-largest city in Galveston County, behind League City and Galveston. It is a part of the Houston metropolitan area. The city is notable as the site of a major explosion in 1947 that demolished the port and much of the city.
context_section_description: The Texas City economy has long been based on heavy industry, particularly shipping at the Port of Texas City, as well as petroleum and petrochemical refining. The Texas City Industrial Complex is a leading center of the petrochemical industry. Within this complex, the Galveston Bay Refinery operated by Marathon is the second-largest petroleum refinery in Texas and third-largest in the United States. The Port of Texas City became the third-leading port in Texas by tonnage and ninth in the nation. In recent decades, the city's planners have made efforts to diversify the economy into tourism, health care, and many other sectors. As early as 1974, Texas City was placed on the top-ten list for the EPA superfund.  Outdated practices for the disposal of toxic waste have continued there for years.
  As of 2010, SSA Marine Company had plans to build a major new cargo container shipping terminal known as the Texas City International Terminal at Shoal Point. The project is intended to capitalize on the expansion of the Panama Canal, scheduled for completion in 2014, which city officials expect to substantially increase trade between the Gulf Coast and Asia.
  The Port of Texas City, operated by the Port of Texas City / Texas City Terminal Railway, is the eighth-largest port in the United States and the third-largest in Texas, with waterborne tonnage exceeding 78 million net tons. The Texas City Terminal Railway Company provides an important land link to the port, handling over 25,000 carloads per year. The Port of Texas City's success as a privately owned port has been aided by its shareholders, the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads, whose connections allow for expeditious interchange of their traffic.
caption: Petrochemical industry in the Texas City
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