More Progress at Shell’s PA Ethane Cracker Plant Site
All signs continue to point to a “go” decision for Shell’s planned ethane cracker plant facility in Monaca (Beaver County), PA. Shell has now spent over half a billion dollars out of a projected $2-$3 billion (25%) on the project already (see Shell has Spent “Half a Billion Dollars” on PA Cracker Already!). Last month a local mall owner said that Shell has leased part of the mall’s parking lot for big bucks (see More Evidence that the Shell Ethane Cracker Plant in PA is a Go). And just last week Shell’s CFO said the PA cracker project is “an excellent project” and they expect to make a decision soon (see Shell Says PA Cracker Decision Coming < 12 Months – Looking Good). We can throw a few more positive signs into the mix. A bridge Shell was building over top a local highway to give trucks easy access to the site is now complete. Shell has committed $69 million to build a new water treatment plant for the local town. And they are now building a new dock facility which, according to Shell, will be “critical” to building the new plant…
Read More “More Progress at Shell’s PA Ethane Cracker Plant Site”
The muckety-mucks from Shell held their quarterly earnings phone call with analysts yesterday–and there is what we consider big news to report coming from that call. In response to a question from an analyst, Shell’s Chief Financial Officer, Simon Henry, commented there are four major “chemicals” projects currently under consideration by Shell. He also said a decision on the PA cracker plant project planned in Beaver County will likely be the first decision to be made because of “the timing of certain commitments that are already in place.” He added these glowing words about the PA cracker: “It’s an excellent project…[that] provides quite some portfolio resilience relative to the rest of the opportunities.” He later said “It’s a very strong and robust project.” If the price of oil were higher than the current $40, pulling the trigger on the PA cracker would be “a very easy decision.” When you read his comments, it’s hard to miss the enthusiasm at the highest echelons inside Shell…
It’s only been one year since Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical announced they are interested in building a $5 billion ethane cracker plant complex in Belmont County, OH (see 
In March MDN brought you the news that Primus Green Energy, a gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology company announced they would build a 160 metric tons per day (MT/day) methanol plant using the company’s proprietary technology at “a manufacturing site in the Marcellus shale region” in 2017 (see 
We have more evidence that Shell’s Monaca (Beaver County), PA cracker plant is now a go. MDN previously told you that Shell has already spent upward of half a billion dollars out of the projected $2-$3 billion it will take to build the project (see 
Radical environmentalists from groups like the Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Earthjustice continue a full court press to try and stop Dominion’s Cove Point LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility, currently under construction (more than a quarter done) along the coast of Maryland. These groups coordinate and collude to try and deny a single, legitimate business–Dominion–the right to conduct business. Sounds like something out of Stalin’s Russia or Hitler’s Germany–but no. It’s right here in the US of A. Here’s the radical’s strategy in a nutshell–throw as much feces against the wall as you can, and hope that some of it sticks. One pile of feces they’ve thrown is to file multiple lawsuits, in various courts (see 
It was exactly a year ago (last Friday) that PTT Global Chemical announced their intentions to build an ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, OH (see 
Forget about drilling, infrastructure is where it’s at baby! That’s our words summarizing a new study just released by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA). The new study, titled “North American Midstream Infrastructure Through 2035: Leaning into the Headwinds” (full copy below) says the U.S. and Canada need to invest $546 billion (real 2015$) total over the 21-year period from 2015 to 2035–or $26 billion per year–in natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure. Natural gas infrastructure includes “gathering and transmission pipelines, compressors, laterals, gas-lease equipment, processing, gas storage and liquefied natural gas export facilities” (NGI). Our tongue-in-cheek opening statement isn’t completely true. You need drilling or sooner or later you have no gas to flow through the infrastructure. However, for the time being, investors (and engineers and construction firms, etc.) need to pay attention to infrastructure buildout…
The Pittsburgh Business Times hosted an event yesterday in Beaver County, PA–the place where Shell is spending money to explore whether or not to build an ethane cracker plant. Seems like we’ve been writing about Shell’s potential ethane cracker forever. We’ve chronicled just about every up and down. We’ve also highlighted various initiatives they’ve undertaken since announcing Monaca, PA as their chosen site–something they did back in March 2012, now four years ago (see 
Two weeks ago MDN warned you of a court case that has the potential to upend the midstream (pipelines & processing plants) market–here in the Marcellus/Utica and across the country (see