Belmont County

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…
Read More “OH Cracker Final Decision Coming Soon, Site Now Cleared & Ready”

The next chapter in the quest to build a $5.7 billion ethane cracker plant complex in Belmont County, OH takes place today. Part of the chosen site for PTT Global Chemical’s cracker plant is the 130-acre site where the R.E. Burger Plant, a coal-fired electric generating plant owned by Ohio utility company FirstEnergy, is located. Today is the day that the plant’s 854-foot concrete smoke stack will get demolished. By the time you read this, it will already be on the ground. Local media is calling the site “historical” and a “landmark.” We’d call it an eyesore. Bring on the cracker! NOTE: We found a dramatic video of the smoke stack and nearby buildings coming down–give it a watch!…
Read More “RE Burger Smoke Stack Demolished Today, Prep for OH Cracker Plant”

In April 2015 PTT Global announced they had chose a site in Belmont County, OH as the site of for their $5.7 billion ethane cracker complex (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). In short order PTT began spending money on the project, doling out $100 million for two engineering firms to design the plant (see PTT CEO Arrives in OH to Announce First $100M for Cracker Plant). As for real estate, part of the chosen site is the 130-acre R.E. Burger Plant, a coal-fired electric generating plant owned by Ohio utility company FirstEnergy. The Burger Plant site is currently being cleared and remediated by FirstEnergy. However, the entire project will need something like 400-500 acres. So where will the extra real estate come from? MDN previously reported that PTT had signed an option to buy 300 acres adjacent to the Burger Plant site owned by Ohio-West Virginia Excavating (see 300 Acres Next to FirstEnergy Site Part of Belmont Cracker Plan). But it seems that still may not be enough. We spotted a story that says residents who live west of the Burger Plant site have been contacted to let them know they may need to move too…
Read More “PTT Clearing Ohio Cracker Site, Nearby Residents Must Move?”

PTT Global Chemical, based in Thailand, announced in April 2015 they are interested in building a $5 billion ethane cracker plant complex in Belmont County, OH (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). From the beginning, PTT let it be known a final decision on whether or not to invest the whole $5 billion would not come until 2016 or 2017. Last week MDN picked up a story from the Bangkok Post which said the decision will definitely come in 2017, calling the decision “delayed” (see PTT Global Says OH Cracker Decision “Delayed” Until 2017). Apparently stung by that story, a local PTT spokesman in Ohio has responded to say the Bangkok story is wrong–the decision is not “delayed” and is, in fact, on track…
Read More “PTT Global Says Belmont, OH Ethane Cracker NOT Delayed”

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 It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). Since that time PTT has been busy, spending (by our estimates) at least $150 million on the project (see our list of PTT stories here). However, from the very beginning, PTT let it be known a final decision on whether or not to invest the whole $5 billion would not come until 2016 or 2017. We know have confirmation from PTT that the final decision will (disappointingly) come in 2017. The reason for the “delay” in the decision? Falling oil prices…
Read More “PTT Global Says OH Cracker Decision “Delayed” Until 2017″

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 It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). Since that time a number of positive signs have occurred that indicate this is a real, very serious project. One such sign is that PTT is paying $100 million to have the engineering work done for the plant (see PTT Announces 2 Contractors Working on Belmont Cracker Plant). Another sign is that demolition work at the site has begun (see Ongoing Demolition Work at Future Belmont OH Ethane Cracker Site). The demolition work, as well as the design work, continues. Here’s an update on the latest good signs coming from the proposed Belmont cracker plant…
Read More “Steady Progress at Belmont County, OH Ethane Cracker Plant Site”

Bulldozers and heavy equipment continue to demolish an old coal-fired electric plant in Belmont County–at the site where PTT Global Chemical says they want to build a $5.7 billion ethane cracker plant. It’s a good sign that PTT continues to spend big money on the project. PTT is in the midst of spending $100 million on engineering plans for the plant (see PTT Announces 2 Contractors Working on Belmont Cracker Plant). The project is the first of all the announced cracker projects in the northeast to get its own website (see Getting Serious: Ohio Ethane Cracker Gets its Own Website). And now, demolition at the FirstEnergy R.E. Burger power plant site…
Read More “Ongoing Demolition Work at Future Belmont OH Ethane Cracker Site”