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PTT Working on Plan to Build Petchem Plant…in Thailand, Not Ohio

This is your friendly (somewhat snarky) semi-annual reminder from MDN that the PTT ethane cracker project in Ohio is dead (see Facing Reality – PTT Ohio Cracker Plant Project is Dead). We periodically look for signs of life in the project, and it has been a flat line for YEARS. Nothing. Local and state leaders in Ohio sometimes pop their heads up to tell us to have hope; it will still happen. BUNKUM. Earlier today, PTT Global Chemical Public Company, the parent that would build an ethane cracker in Belmont County, OH, announced a deal with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries “to explore the utilization of hydrogen, ammonia and CCS technology to develop a large-scale petrochemical plant to achieve Net Zero.” However, the location of the plant will be in Thailand, PTT’s home country, and NOT in Ohio. We’ve pointed out for years that PTT has all sorts of money to work on big, multi-billion-dollar petrochemical plant projects elsewhere, but apparently there is not enough money for the Belmont ethane cracker. Why?
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PTT Offers Excuses to Belmont County on Why Cracker Project Stalled

Two weeks ago, MDN editor Jim Willis offered the opinion that PTT Global Chemical is not going to build an ethane cracker plant in Belmont County (see Facing Reality – PTT Ohio Cracker Plant Project is Dead). He backed up his opinion with observations and facts to support it. On Tuesday, the Belmont County Township Trustees Association heard a report from PTT’s public relations firm, which continues to dangle the carrot that the cracker plant is coming.
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Facing Reality – PTT Ohio Cracker Plant Project is Dead

We’ll say aloud what no one else appears ready or willing to say: The long-ballyhooed PTT ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County, Ohio, announced eight years ago, is dead. That’s our humble opinion. We periodically look for signs of life in the project, and it has been a flat line for YEARS. Nothing. A local news article from earlier this week asked, “What is the future of the Belmont County Ethane Cracker plant project?” Local county leaders are still “very optimistic” it will get built. We say it’s time to face reality.
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JobsOhio Says OH Ethane Cracker Will Happen, PTT or Someone Else

JobsOhio, a private nonprofit largely funded by the profits from state liquor sales, is dedicated to attracting new jobs and investments to the state. JobsOhio has been a big part of the plan to get an ethane cracker built in the state, a project currently on hold. JobsOhio still believes there will be an ethane cracker plant built on a site prepared for that purpose in Belmont County, Ohio. PTT Global Chemical is supposed to be the one building the plant. However, a stray comment by the President and CEO of JobsOhio, JP Nauseef, confirms what we’ve thought for a long time…
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PTT Pays JobsOhio $20M for Failing to Build OH Cracker Plant

PTT Global Chemical has reimbursed JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development office, $20 million for failing to make a final investment decision (FID) to build a multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County, OH. JobsOhio paid Bechtel Corp. $20 million in 2019 to complete site engineering and site preparation for the project, with a promise from PTT that it would soon make an FID and move forward with construction. That never happened, so PTT is paying up because it didn’t live up to its end of the bargain. Interestingly, PTT maintains it is “committed to building the multi-billion dollar project.” Right.
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Why Didn’t Ohio PTT Cracker Get Built? Is There Still Hope?

Last August, PTT Global Chemical finally came clean and admitted there will be no final investment decision (FID) to build a $10 billion ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County, OH, until they secure a partner to help finance the project (see PTT Finally Admits Truth – Ohio Cracker Project on Indefinite Hold). Early in the modern shale era, numbers were thrown around about the Marcellus/Utica attracting four or five ethane cracker projects. The Shell cracker in Beaver County is almost ready, but so far, it’s the only one. Will the PTT cracker ever actually get built? Will there be others built?
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Ohio Cracker Plant Air Permit Expires, PTT Filing for New Permit

Last August, PTT Global Chemical finally came clean and admitted there will be no final investment decision (FID) to build a $10 billion ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County, OH, until they secure a partner to help finance the project (see PTT Finally Admits Truth – Ohio Cracker Project on Indefinite Hold). In other words, the Ohio cracker is on indefinite hold. Yet PTT continues to mouth support for the project.
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Shell Cracker Set to Come Online in 2022 – More Coming Attractions

Our friends at NGI (Natural Gas Intelligence) are running an excellent series providing expert forecasts for the global natural gas and oil markets in 2022. The latest installment interviews several experts about the prospects for the Marcellus/Utica. With the Shell ethane cracker plant coming online sometime this year, the prospects for NGL sales in the M-U have picked up. Also in the discussion: capping Pennsylvania’s orphaned wells, drilling in the Wayne National Forest, and the Mountain Valley Pipeline coming online.
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On-Hold PTT Ohio Cracker Still Teases – Claims Will Be Net-Zero CO2

Dan Williamson – PTT Global Chemical America

In August, PTT Global Chemical finally came clean and admitted there will be no final investment decision (FID) to build a $10 billion ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County, OH, until they secure a partner to help finance the project (see PTT Finally Admits Truth – Ohio Cracker Project on Indefinite Hold). In other words, the Ohio cracker is on indefinite hold. Yet the company via its U.S. spokesman continues to tease and offer up hope the project will happen.
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PTT Finally Admits Truth – Ohio Cracker Project on Indefinite Hold

In February of this year, PTT Global Chemical adamantly claimed a final investment decision (FID) to build the $10 billion ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County, OH would happen by “middle of 2021” (see PTT Says Recent Reports of Ohio Cracker Decision Delay “Not True”). They lied. Again. Last week we told you that since May, PTT Global Chemical’s parent company, PTT Pcl (Thailand’s biggest company by far), has spent almost $10 billion to build an electric vehicle business and buy up petrochemical assets in Europe and renewable-energy projects in Asia (see PTT Blows $10B on Renewables Since May, Still No OH Cracker FID). Yet they can’t scrape together the money to build the Ohio cracker plant. PTT Global Chemical has finally come clean and admitted there will be no FID for the cracker plant–not until they secure a partner to help finance the project. In other words, it’s on indefinite hold.
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PTT Blows $10B on Renewables Since May, Still No OH Cracker FID

In February of this year, PTT Global Chemical adamantly claimed a final investment decision (FID) to build the $10 billion ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County, OH would happen by “middle of 2021” (see PTT Says Recent Reports of Ohio Cracker Decision Delay “Not True”). They lied. Again. Since May, PTT Global Chemical’s parent company, PTT Pcl (Thailand’s biggest company by far), has spent almost $10 billion to build an electric vehicle business and buy up petrochemical assets in Europe and renewable-energy projects in Asia. “And the group isn’t done yet.”
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Ohio EPA Extends Expiring Permit for Elusive PTT Ethane Cracker

How’s this for serendipity? We were just thinking about the latest violation of expectations by PTT Global Chemical. In February the company adamantly said a final investment decision (FID) to build the $10 billion ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County, OH would happen by “middle of 2021” (see PTT Says Recent Reports of Ohio Cracker Decision Delay “Not True”). Right. About the same time we were pondering PTT’s non-forthcoming FID and latest broken promise, a sharp MDN reader emailed to ask if we had heard anything further, especially given the project has an air permit issued by the Ohio EPA (OEPA) that will expire at the end of June. Lo and behold, OEPA has just extended the expiring permit until February 2022.
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Expert Says PTT Ethane Cracker in Belmont, OH Will Get Built

We’ve written many articles about the potential PTT cracker plant since April 2015 when PTT, a huge petrochemical company based in Thailand, first announced they would consider building an ethane cracker plant in Ohio (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). PTT has teased a “final investment decision” (FID) to move forward and begin construction so many times over the years since then, we’ve lost count and we’ve become a bit jaded about the prospects for the project. However, someone we highly admire and respect, someone who really would know whether or not it will get built, now says he is “highly confident one way or another…it’s going to happen.”
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PTT Says Recent Reports of Ohio Cracker Decision Delay “Not True”

Last November we brought you the news that PTT Global Chemical was changing the timeline (again) for a final investment decision (FID) to build a $10 billion ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, OH, this time to the middle of 2021 (see PTT Delays Final Cracker Decision to at Least Middle of 2021). Late last week rumors began to swirl following an article in the Bangkok Post that PTT has delayed the FID beyond mid-year. PTT was quick to respond and say that’s “just not true.”
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PTT Delays Final Cracker Decision to at Least Middle of 2021

Once again PTT Global Chemical is changing the timeline for a final investment decision (FID) to build a $10 billion ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, OH–for the umpteenth time. The most recent timeline had a decision coming by the end of this year or in the first quarter of next year. Whoops, they did it again! The new timeline is now “at least the middle of 2021.”
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Range Signs Deal to be Main Ethane Supplier for PTT Ohio Cracker

Earlier this week we brought you a post exploring whether or not PTT Global Chemical will, in the end, actually build a $10 billion ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, Ohio (see Is PTT Going to Build a Cracker in Belmont County, OH…or Not?). Yesterday gave us one more strong signal for the “yes they will build it” column.
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