The American Chemistry Council trade group last week announced that shale gas in the U.S. is having an incredible economic impact on the chemical industry. According to the ACC, who keeps track of these things, 148 shale-related chemical industry projects, valued at $100.2 billion, have been announced–so far. These projects include new factories, expansions and process changes to increase capacity. The ACC says the new spending could lead to $81 billion per year in new chemical industry output and 637,000 permanent new jobs by 2023. Astonishing. More than half of the investment is by firms based outside the United States.
Here’s the ACC announcement from last week:
