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Shell PA Cracker Plant Remains Shut Down for “Few Weeks” at Least

The Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA (near Pittsburgh) has experienced a number of problems over the past six months during startup, including flaring and foul odors (see Shell Hosts Virtual Meeting with Community re Cracker Problems). Earlier this month, Shell’s new CEO called the cracker plant problems “technical niggles,” meaning minor irritations (see Shell CEO Calls PA Cracker Plant Problems “Technical Niggles”). It looks like the problems are more than just niggles. The plant is shut down and will remain so for at least “the next few weeks,” according to Shell.
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Radical Antis File Lawsuit Aiming to Shut Down Shell PA Cracker

Yesterday two radicalized Big Green groups–the Environmental Integrity Project (based in D.C.) and the Clean Air Council (based in Philadelphia)–filed a lawsuit against the Shell Polymers Monaca Plant (ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA), claiming the plant has repeatedly violated federal air pollution limits. The lawsuit requests the court assess huge fines and force it close down unless it can operate without any further violations of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) and the federal Air Pollution Control Act (APCA). In other words, the radicals seek to shut down the $10 billion plant and keep it shut down–throwing 600 permanent employees out of work. Nice people at the Environmental Integrity Project and Clean Air Council, eh?
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Shell CEO Calls PA Cracker Plant Problems “Technical Niggles”

The Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA (near Pittsburgh) has experienced a number of problems over the past six months during startup, including flaring and foul odors (see Shell Hosts Virtual Meeting with Community re Cracker Problems). Last Thursday, Shell (the mothership company) issued its first quarter update, including a conference call with analysts. Newly-minuted CEO Wael Sawan addressed the issue of the problems at the PA cracker plant, referring to the problems as “technical niggles.” Yeah, he stuck his foot in his mouth.
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MPLX 1Q – Harmon II Processing Plant Coming Online in 2024

In late 2015, MPLX (i.e. Marathon Petroleum) bought out and merged in the Utica Shale’s premier midstream company, MarkWest Energy, for $15 billion (see MarkWest Energy Investors/Unitholders Approve Merger with Marathon). The “new” MarkWest, aka MPLX, plays on a much larger stage now, including ownership and operation of major assets in the Permian Basin and in the Bakken Shale, in addition to the Utica/Marcellus. However, most of MPLX’s activity (and revenue) comes from the M-U. Yesterday MPLX issued its first quarter 2023 update.
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Shell Hosts Virtual Meeting with Community re Cracker Problems

Last night, Shell hosted a virtual community meeting to address air monitoring and recent problems experienced at the company’s ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA. Executives answered questions about the plant’s environmental record over the past six months, including a recent odor event earlier this month (see PA DEP Investigates Bad Odor Coming from Shell Cracker Plant). Christopher Kuhlman, a senior toxicologist hired by Shell to review air data and assess exposure, told attendees that any inadvertent air releases from the plant have been safe for nearby residents. Not everyone agreed.
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Chemours & TC Energy Collaborate on 2 Hydrogen Hub Plants in WV

One of the world’s largest chemical companies, the Chemours Company (which you used to know as DuPont), along with TC Energy (which you used to know as TransCanada), announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the potential development of two electrolysis-based hydrogen production facilities at or near Chemours’ Washington Works and Belle manufacturing sites in West Virginia. Both companies are part of the effort to attract a hydrogen hub to West Virginia called Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). The financial terms of the Chemours/TC Energy deal were not disclosed.
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PA & TX Congressmen Tour Philly’s Marcus Hook NGL Facility

Marcus Hook complex (click for larger version)

U.S. Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) joined Congressman Troy Nehls (TX-22) for a roundtable discussion and tour of Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook facility near Philadelphia last week. Marcus Hook is where the mighty Mariner East pipeline system terminates. Mariner East flows natural gas liquids (NGLs), including ethane, propane, and butane, to the Marcus Hook refinery, where a fractionator separates them into their respective hydrocarbon streams. The various NGLs are then (mostly) loaded onto ships and exported. The entire system–the pipeline and the refinery–is a marvel. Meuser and Nehls were there to learn more about it.
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PA DEP Investigates Bad Odor Coming from Shell Cracker Plant

Shell Polymers Monaca (click for larger view)

The mighty Shell ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA (called Shell Polymers Monaca) has had “issues” getting and staying fully up to speed. Since it officially went online last November, Shell has received six separate notices of violation (NOVs) for exceeding allowable air pollution limits, largely related to repeated flaring episodes (see PA DEP Issues Three More Air Pollution NOVs to Shell Cracker). Sadly, we have another problem to report. Residents living near the plant last week reported a strong, very unpleasant odor coming from the plant. Shell says the odor happened when crews drained a process water tank in preparation for scheduled maintenance and shutdown. The odor lasted for two days.
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Antis Oppose $1.1B Plastics Recycling Plant in Northumberland, PA

Plastics come from oil and natural gas. You knew that, right? Without plastics, modern life would be impossible. We’d revert to a time when we used horse and buggy. Modern hospitals would close without plastic tubing to deliver life-saving medicine or plastic gloves to protect against infection. Yet our reliance on plastics is not without problems. Too much plastic ends up in landfills and our oceans–killing critters. Microplastics end up in our bodies. Yuck. However, there are solutions to the problems of plastics that avoid a ban on manufacturing plastic products.
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Nacero Pivots – PA Marcellus GTL Plant to Produce Jet Fuel not Gas

Two weeks ago, MDN did something we don’t often do: We broke news, providing an exclusive that Naceo’s plan to build a $6 billion gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery on the site of a former coal mine in Newport Township and Nanticoke in Luzerne County, PA, is still alive and active (see Nacero Plan for Northeast PA Marcellus-to-Liquids Plant Still Alive). Must be our story prompted local media in Luzerne County to do some real reporting. In a follow-up, a local newspaper reports while Nacero still wants to build the facility (confirming our news), but that the type of facility it wants to build has now changed.
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Nacero Plan for Northeast PA Marcellus-to-Liquids Plant Still Alive

In October 2021, Nacero announced a $6 billion gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery to be built on the site of a former coal mine in Newport Township and Nanticoke in Luzerne County, PA (see NEPA Huge Deal – $6B Plant to Convert Marcellus Gas to Gasoline). The plant would convert Marcellus natural gas into zero-sulfur gasoline for use in existing cars and trucks without modification. The initial announcement was a big to-do involving politicians and local economic leaders. Antis (in typical fashion) have bashed the project (see PA Anti-Fossil Fuelers Hold Online Session to Bash Nacero GTL Plant). Since the initial announcement, there hasn’t been any apparent progress. We’ve wondered (for a while now) if this project is still alive?
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Shell Claims PA Cracker Plant Did Not Exceed Air Emissions Limits

The mighty Shell ethane cracker has had “issues” getting and staying fully up to speed. Since it officially went online last November, Shell has received three separate notices of violation (NOVs) for exceeding allowable air pollution limits, largely related to repeated flaring episodes (see Shell Cracker Flares Again, Shuts Down Part of Plant for Repairs). The facility is partially closed while Shell performs maintenance and repairs to one of the unit systems. Big Green groups plan to sue to try and get the multi-billion-dollar plant permanently closed based on the air emissions violations. Shell is fighting back and now claims, based on a new method of measuring emissions, it hasn’t violated emissions at any point–even during flaring.
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Shell Cracker Flares Again, Shuts Down Part of Plant for Repairs

The mighty Shell ethane cracker seems to have “issues” in getting and staying fully up to speed. We’ve previously reported on a series of emergency flaring episodes at the plant (see Shell PA Cracker Plant has Another “Emergency” Flaring Episode). Over the weekend, Shell announced (via Facebook) it was shutting down part of the cracker plant facility “to perform maintenance and conduct repairs on one of our unit systems.” The shutdown requires the plant to once again activate its flaring (burning hydrocarbons) for an unspecified amount of time. Here we go again.
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Shell PA Cracker Plant has Another “Emergency” Flaring Episode

Shell cracker plant flaring 3/14/23

The mighty Shell ethane cracker seems to have “issues” in getting, and staying, fully up to speed. In what has become a pattern, about once a month the cracker plant is forced to use flaring–the burning of hydrocarbons (ethane or natural gas) to safely dispose of said hydrocarbons during an equipment malfunction. It happened a number of times late last year as the plant began to come online (see Shell Cracker Plant has Flaring Episode – Skyline Turns Orange). Another flaring episode happened last month (see Shell Cracker Plant Forced to Flare Again Following “Malfunction”). And, flaring happened again Tuesday evening for three hours, according to a local anti group that keeps cameras trained on the facility 24/7/365.
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PA DEP Hits Shell Cracker with Emissions NOV, Antis Seek Shutdown

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) early last week to the Shell ethane cracker plant in Monaca (Beaver County), PA, now called the Shell Polymers Monaca facility, for the third time since it officially began operation last November. In a letter dated Feb. 13 (copy below), the DEP stated the facility violated rolling 12-month emission standards in both November and December. Shell faces fines of $25,000 per day for each day the facility exceeds emissions limits. In light of this most recent NOV, two anti-fossil energy groups have asked the DEP to immediately shut down the facility to stop extra air pollution in the region.
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Shell Cracker Plant Forced to Flare Again Following “Malfunction”

It hasn’t been a problem-free startup for the mighty Shell ethane cracker plant in Monaca (Beaver County), PA, now called the Shell Polymers Monaca facility. We’ve noted some of the more prominent issues as we’ve spotted them in the news. Things like the plant exceeding allowed air emissions (see PA DEP Issues Violation to Shell Cracker for Exceeding Air Emissions) and flaring at the plant causing the sky to turn orange at night (see Shell Cracker Plant has Flaring Episode – Skyline Turns Orange). There’s a good chance the sky was orange again last night.
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