Shell CEO Says PA Cracker Up & Running “Not Anymore This Decade”
In June 2016, MDN was one of the first to unearth the announcement by Shell, almost hidden away inside another announcement, that the company had made it’s “final investment decision” (FID) to move forward with building a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA (see Breaking: Shell Pulls the Trigger, PA Ethane Cracker is a Go!). At the time of the announcement, and since then, Shell has been cagey in not pegging any specific date for when they predict the plant will be built and online–although they have said the plant would start to contribute cash to Shell’s bottom line “after 2020.” That’s about all we’ve been able to find about timing for the plant–until now. Shell released their fourth quarter and full year update yesterday, and as part of that update, held a conference call with analysts. On the call, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said, in response to a question from an analyst, that Shell will begin spending big money to build the plant “by the end of the year [meaning this year], certainly in 2018.” van Beurden also said, “We haven’t announced exactly when it will start up, but expect that to be not anymore this decade.” He’s not a native English speaker, so we’re having a tough time figuring out exactly what he meant. Does he mean the cracker will be running “not anymore *than* this decade” (meaning before 2020), or “not anymore *in* this decade” (meaning it is now pushed out after 2020). You’re guess is as good as ours…
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Last week we brought you a few pickings from the Hart Energy Marcellus-Utica Midstream Conference and Exhibition held in Pittsburgh. One of those pickings were comments from Williams CEO Alan Armstrong and his prediction that production in the Marcellus/Utica would go up by 65% in the next five years (see 
As we inch closer to a final investment decision (FID) on the PTT Global Chemical ethane cracker in Belmont County, OH, and with President Trump’s emphasis on using steel manufactured here at home for pipeline projects like Keystone XL, some are asking whether the PTT project (if it gets approved) will use American steel–or cheap, imported steel. It’s a good question…
Pennsylvania hired research firm IHSMarkit to study the Marcellus and Utica and how many ethane cracker plants the region can comfortably support. Denise Brinley, a special assistant to the Secretary of the state Department of Community and Economic Development, offered a preview of that report at this week’s Hart Energy Marcellus Utica Midstream conference in Pittsburgh. Although the report is due to be published “in the next few weeks,” Brinley spilled the beans on what it concludes: The PA Marcellus can support another two cracker plants, and the Utica can support two crackers. That’s another four cracker plants, theoretically, that our region can support, in addition to Shell’s ethane cracker. However, the study will also show we need more infrastructure (i.e. pipelines) in order to support such projects. Here’s a glimpse into some very exciting news…
In December the Potter Township Board of Supervisors convened a public hearing on the proposed Shell ethane cracker plant–to be built in Potter Twp–that ended up going on for 10 hours (see 
In December the Potter Township Board of Supervisors convened a public hearing on the proposed Shell ethane cracker plant–to be built in Potter Twp–that ended up going on for 10 hours (see 
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Exterran Corporation (with 5,400 employees) specializes in natural gas compression production equipment and processing facilities. They design, build and operate compressor stations and natural gas processing plants. In 2012 MDN reported on a contract Exterran won to build three natural gas processing plants in West Virginia (see 
Environmentalists are accusing Shell of using a loophole to discharge wastewater at their future ethane cracker that will exceed state limits for TDS (total dissolved solids). The issue may sound familiar. In 2011 Pennsylvania “requested” that municipal sewage treatment plants without specially outfitted equipment stop accepting and processing Marcellus wastewater (see 
In June 2015, a full year ahead of Shell’s final investment decision (FID) to build a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker plant complex in Beaver County, PA, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection issued the project air quality permits–which was a “critical” requirement for Shell before making their decision (see 
The Potter Township Board of Supervisors convened a public hearing on Tuesday afternoon at 3 pm that ended up going until 1 am Wednesday. The intent was to approve Shell’s request for permits to begin construction on the multi-billion dollar ethane cracker plant. That didn’t happen. Instead, the supervisors decided to hold another hearing Wednesday night. They did, and that hearing went for over an hour, in closed-door session. At the conclusion, the supervisors made a couple of requests from Shell, which Shell agreed to. However, the supervisors are still not ready to approve the permits and instead asked for more paperwork to be filed–by both Shell and the radical, anti-fossil fuel Big Green group Clean Air Council (from Philadelphia). It seems the antis are attempting to stop this project cold–which should have the good citizens of Beaver County (indeed the entire northeast) outraged. At any rate, we’re sure the permits will be forthcoming–but now it won’t happen until sometime in January…
When it comes to gas-to-liquids (GTL), MDN has observed (as we stated in a story yesterday, see 
Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) plants convert natural gas, a hydrocarbon, into other hydrocarbons, like diesel fuel, gasoline, solvents and waxes. An abundance of cheap natural gas in the Marcellus/Utica is one of the prime motivators for establishing GTL plants in the region. Although we’ve heard plenty of talk about such plants, we’ve only seen a few prototypes get built. There’s lots of talk, lots of smoke–but so far, no fire. Will that soon change? We spotted a story about a GTL plant that may locate in Somerset (Pulaski County), Kentucky. Which we find interesting since Kentucky hates new gas pipelines, yet wants to build a plant that will use gas coming from pipelines (see 
On Monday MDN reported that the future site for an ethane cracker in Belmont County, OH is now cleared and ready for construction to begin (see 
The future site of a $5 billion petrochemical complex, including an ethane cracker, in Belmont County, OH is now cleared and essentially ready to begin building on. It has taken nearly a year, but the old R.E. Burger power plant that used to sit along the Ohio River is now just a memory. Belmont County officials say they expect PTT Global Chemical, the company that will build and operate the cracker, will make a final (positive) investment decision by the end of March–in just a few months’ time. Although the project began after Shell’s cracker project in Beaver County, PA, the PTT Global project in Belmont County has almost caught up with the Shell cracker project with respect to site readiness and building the actual buildings that will house the mighty cracker…
“Please pass the salt for my methane cheeseburger!” This story is one of those stories that makes us literally laugh out loud. It’s the kind of story we love to share–to push in the face of fossil fuel haters. (Sent to us by our faithful story-sniffing assistant, Chris Acker. Thanks Chris!) A California-based company, Calysta, has pioneered a way to convert methane (i.e. natural gas) into “high protein” food–for animals. Calysta is partnering with food-giant Cargill to build a big plant to manufacture this “gassy” food that will be fed to animals–animals that humans eat, like pigs. Calysta also wants to (one day) manufacture food from methane that humans will eat! The technology is already there and done. It’s just a matter of getting approvals and winning the public over to the idea that they’re eating food that started life as a dinosaur…