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Texas

Overview

Texas is located on the southern border of the US, sharing a border with Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Mexico. Austin is the capital of Texas, while Houston is the largest city, but the Dallas – Fort Worth area is the largest metropolitan area in the state. Dallas is a destination for Qatar Airways flights for both passengers and cargo. Houston is also a Qatar Airways destination, as well as being the location of the Consulate General. Texas is the second largest state in the US for both its size and its population of 29 million people. The Lone Star State had a GDP of $1,843,803,000,000 in 2019.

Manufacturing aerospace and defense, biotech and life sciences, energy, and IT are the biggest industries in the state. Texas had $331 billion in exports in 2019, keeping its top ranking in exports for the 18th straight year. Texas also has 50 Fortune 500 companies’ headquarters located in the states, and created 343,000 new jobs in 2019, which was the most in any state. Texas is also the largest energy producing state in the US.

Qatar has a strong relationship with Texas. Qatar is partners in the oil & gas industry with ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum (OXY), McDermott International, Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPC) and Excelerate Energy, all of which are headquartered in Texas. In 2019 Qatar Petroleum (QP) and CPC announced a joint venture to develop the largest ethylene production plant in the middle east. The Golden Pass LNG export project is a $10 billion joint venture between ExxonMobil and QP in Sabine, TX. 45,00 jobs will be created for construction and over 200 permanent jobs will be established upon completion in 2024. The Golden pass will create $31 billion in economic gains. It has also funded a $1.5 million community center in Sabine, TX. OXY has a 24.5% interest in the Dolphin Pipeline in Qatar. ConocoPhillips has a 30% stake in the Qatargas 3 project. Excelerate has a 55% interest in a joint venture with Qatar's Nakilat, the world's largest LNG shipper. Bechtel (Houston) built the Al Sejeel petrochem facility in Ras Laffan, Qatar in 2013. Qatar Investment Authority has invested $550 million in Oryx Midstream Services (Midland), a crude oil transportation company. QIA also has invested in OnCoResponse, a cancer research company. Engineering Group has worked on Inner Doha Resewage Implementation Strategy, the Doha Metro Red Line and Expressways, Ras Laffan LNG Port Expansion and Qatar Transport and Parking Masterplan. KBR is a consultant for Qatar's Expressway Program. Qatar Foundation International supports Arabic programs at Arabic Immersion Magnet School, Austin High School and Burnett Middle School. Texas A&M, has a branch campus located in Education City, Qatar. Furthermore, Qatar has helped the state of Texas when in need. The Qatar Harvey Fund provided $30 million in aid to southeast Texas to rebuild homes, provide grants to Texas A&M, Lamar University, Houston Community College, Lone State College, as well as provide funding for medical assistance and community development. The Embassy of Qatar donated $35,000 to Dynamo Charities (Houston Dynamo - MLS) to provide virtual soccer lessons during COVID-19 pandemic, in partnership with Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston.

Texas does not have corporate income tax. However, there is a corporate franchise tax, which is either 0.375% for retailers and wholesalers, or 0.75% for other entities. Texas has 24 incentive programs like the LoanSTAR Revolving Loan Program and the Rural Health Facility Capital Improvement Program. Furthermore, there are an astounding 33 free trade zones throughout the Lone Star State. The free trade zones are in Hidalgo, Houston, Dallas, Brownsville, El Paso, San Antonio, Laredo, Rio Grande City, Eagle Pass, Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, Freeport, Port Lavaca, Progreso, Midland, Longview, Amarillo, Lubbock, and Austin.