Burdette

West Virginia Department of CommerceSecretary Keith Burdette said Thursday at an industry conference in Pittsburgh that the state expects Odebrecht SA affiliateBraskem SA to acquire additional tracts of property in Parkersburg in the coming weeks for its proposed multi-billion dollar ethane cracker. In April 2015, the companies said plans for the ethane cracker in Wood County, WV, would be postponed pending further project analysis amid the commodities downturn (see Shale Daily,April 23, 2015). But Burdette, who supports the facility, noted that neither Braskem, nor PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) pcl and Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC, which have also proposed crackers in Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively, have scrapped plans for their projects. Burdette said his office expects Braskem to acquire more land sometime by the end of 1Q2016. He added that his office stays in close touch with the company and others that have made similar proposals for the region. He said that Braskem, Shell and PTTGC have each “expressed a desire” to push final investment decisions until 2017. Braskem has filed for certain permits for the cracker and has been acquiring land in Wood County since about 2013, when the facility was first announced (see Shale Daily,Aug. 27, 2014;May 19, 2014;Nov. 14, 2013).