PTT Global Chemical pcl said late Tuesday it has a made a deal with a subsidiary of Daelim Industrial Co. to conduct a feasibility study and secure funding for a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker proposed for southeast Ohio.

Subsidiary PTTGC America LLC (PTTGCA) said its board approved the agreement, but released few details. South Korea-based Daelim Industrial is the parent of Daelim Group, a conglomerate that oversees 12 affiliate companies that develops and constructs petrochemical oil/gas facilities and power plants, worldwide. It also develops commercial properties, sports facilities and resorts, among other things. Daelim’s petrochemical division operates 1.95 metric tons a year (mtpa) of ethylene production capacity.

Although the announcement could bring the Ohio project a step closer to reality, Thai-based PTTGC stressed again this week that a final investment decision won’t be made until late 2018.

“As PTTGCA continues to solicit strategic partners, there are multiple interests from international investors, including Daelim, to participate,” it said.

The company committed $100 million in 2015 for preliminary design work on the facility, which it wants to build near the Ohio River in Belmont County. PTTGC has already signed purchase option agreements for part of the 500-acre site it plans to build on. It has secured commercial arrangements with producers for feedstock as well as those for utility supplies, product marketing and logistics. The company has also received some permits for site preparation.

If built, the cracker would have the capability to consume about 65,000 b/d of ethane and the capacity to produce 1.5 mtpa of ethylene and its derivative. An affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc is building a cracker in nearby western Pennsylvania with the capacity to consume about 100,000 b/d of Marcellus and Utica shale ethane.