REFUGIO - Refugio's teeter-tottering 8 percent unemployment rate may soon be on the decrease with the construction of an EOG Resources plant off U.S. Highway 77, northeast of Refugio.

Initial construction on the 222-acre tract can be seen can be seen from the roadway.

The plant will provide fracturing sand for use in oil and gas drilling, said Lenny Anzaldua, Refugio County Chamber of Commerce president and economic development director.

The plant will house 22 120-feet tall storage silos and will employ 100 construction workers.

The plant will transport the sand by truck to use in drilling operations in the Eagle Ford Shale, he said.

Once completed, the plant is expected to create 10 to 20 full-time jobs, Anzaldua said.

The estimated completion date is May 2011.

The addition of the plant means things may be shaping up for Refugio's economy and employment, Anzaldua said.

"It's high for what we're used to," Anzaldua said about the unemployment rate.

At its peak, the city was at 9 percent unemployment, he said. Typically, the unemployment rate is at about 4 or 5 percent, he said.

"The EOG, coupled with the announcement from Stripes to build a new store in Refugio, will give the unemployed a chance to get jobs here," he added.

Curtis C. Parsons, EOG's general manager of shared services, is happy to be in the area, he said.

"We felt like we had a good site with good rail access," he said. "We're happy to be there and I think Refugio will be happy with us."

• ABOUT EOG RESOURCES INC.One of the largest independent oil and natural gas companies in the United States, Canada, Trinidad, United Kingdom and China.

  About 75 percent of EOG's reserves of natural gas are in the United States.

  At the end of 2009, EOG had about 2,100 employees.