On the market: The LSU AgCenter plans to lease land on two of its research stations during 2017. The AgCenter says the Northeast Research Station near St. Joseph is looking at leasing approximately 80 acres while the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center near Alexandria expects to lease about 80 acres in addition to 107 acres already leased. The Northeast station, which focuses on row crop production, comprises 620 acres. Researchers at the Dean Lee station conduct row crop and cattle research across 3,200 acres. Land leases at both stations will go before the LSU Board of Supervisors for approval. Read more.
Redrafted: Louisiana’s top school board has redrafted its proposal for financing the state’s public schools next year. As The Associated Press reports, today’s action from the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education came at the request of lawmakers. They wanted two provisions added to the $3.7 billion financing formula proposal for the 2017-18 school year, and those were included by the state board. The provisions include language to assist districts impacted by last year’s flooding and to safeguard the Vernon Parish school district if it experiences a significant student enrollment decline from a military deployment at nearby Fort Polk. The changes add $7 million to the formula’s price tag. The formula, approved without objection by the education board, will be resubmitted to the Louisiana Legislature. Lawmakers can only approve or reject the formula they receive.
At a discount: ExxonMobil has announced that it will buy a massive petrochemical plant in Singapore from a financially struggling company at a discounted price. FuelFix.com reports ExxonMobil is acquiring the aromatics chemical plant, which just opened in 2014 in Singapore’s Jurong Island, from the Jurong Aromatics Corp. The corporation is going through the equivalent of U.S. bankruptcy proceedings. The plant has been shut down for a majority of its existence, only restarting operations in July. It was built for $2.4 billion. Although ExxonMobil won’t reveal the acquisition price, The Korea Times reports the price is $1.78 billion. ExxonMobil outbid South Korea’s Lotte Chemical and a consortium including Paris-based Total for the facility, which churns out nearly 1.5 million metric tons of chemicals a year. Read more.
