John Littman of Cushman and Wakefield of Texas Inc.'s Houston office tells GlobeSt.com that the land, which will act as a buffer for the plant, was part of a 22,215-acre holding put up for sale by IP Farms Inc. About 9,715 acres still remain to be sold out of the Chocolate Bay asset.

Littman said the BP Amoco land buy, located at FM 2004 at Chocolate Bay, is situated to the south of the firm's current chemical plant holding. "I don't think they have any plans to build on that site," Littman said. "They bought it as a buffer." He said the land is currently being used as pasture.

Seller IP Farms Inc., which had used the property for rice production, cattle grazing and as a recreational resource for hunters, divested of the property as part of its "strategic plan," Littman said. He and B. Kelley Parker III and H. Frank Stanley, also with Cushman and Wakefield's Houston office, represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was represented by C&W's David L. Cook and Jeff G. Peden.