The existing laboratory facilities at Exxon's Buffalo Speedway and Friendswood sites and Mobil's Farmers Branch site were surveyed to determine the best alternatives to consolidating operations at the lowest cost and within the shortest period of time. The results include the creation of a Strategic Master Plan that presented a multi-phased construction program to create new laboratories and pilot facilities as well as concepts for reconfiguring existing laboratory, office space, and storage space at both Buffalo Speedway and Friendswood to accommodate new research laboratory functions.

Based on the survey information, ExxonMobil chose to reconfigure existing facilities to accommodate the relocation of 21 laboratories, 200 research scientists, technicians, and more than 3,400 separate pieces of laboratory equipment and hoods into 10 buildings that comprise Upstream Research

Project Information
Building Owner:		ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
Owner Contact:		James B. Jackson, Manager General Services
Building Location:		Houston, Texas UNITED STATES
Project Type:		Renovation
Project Delivery Method:		Guaranteed Maximum Price
Project Timeline		Aug 1999 Planning Start Sep 1999 Design Start Feb 2000 Construction Start May 2001 Target Completion
Project Cost:		$6,000,000
Construction Cost:		$5,800,000
Cost Per Sq. Ft:		$226
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Laboratory Office Pilot Plant Research
Building Services:		DI, N2, compressed air, vacuum, O2, CO2, He, H2S, CHW, breathing air
Special Equip:		Media Absorption Device ? dry passive scrubber
Structure/Foundation:		Pre-engineered metal building, slab on grade with grade beam
Laboratory Parameters
Casework Mat'l:		Steel casework, epoxy resin countertops. Owner provided casework (relocated), LCS provide epoxy resin countertops
Fume Hoods:		20 4?wide up to 8? wide
Project Team
Profile Created 10/04/2001
Last Updated 04/04/2006
About the Reported Cost Figures The cost figures reported are supplied by the firms that submitted these projects for publication, which in most cases are the designers or builders. Whereas these sources are intimately familiar with their projects, they may not be fully aware of the owners' finally-realized and recorded costs. In some cases, costs are truly and completely accounted for, and in others they represent a near approximation of the final costs. Costs have not been adjusted for year of construction, nor has any attempt been made to make regional cost adjustments. Further, costs are not comparable on any kind of detailed standard costing model. Hence, it is possible for the cost of one building to include a steam boiler, while the cost of a comparable building might not include the boiler, if steam is being supplied from an already existing campus grid. Or, in another case, a building might include excess boiler capacity to supply steam to another building. Some submittals include fees or unusual site improvements as part of the construction costs, which others do not.