Analysis: Why Parkersburg, WV for a Cracker Plant Complex?

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Don Surber from the Charleston Daily Mail writes a good analysis article in today’s edition that attempts to answer the question, “Why would Brazilian company Odebrecht pick Parkersburg, WV to build an ethane cracker plant?” Surber argues the selection of Parkersburg as the location vaults it into potentially being the most important city in the entire state of WV. He’s right.

Surber’s main point: Don’t focus on the ethane cracker, as nice as that will be. Instead, it’s the three polyethylene plants Odebrecht is going to build that are the real story, the real diamond, if (still a big if) the ethane cracker gets built. Why? It is the polyethylene (plastics) plants that will create a renaissance in manufacturing (i.e. jobs) in the region…

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