Cracker

Royal Dutch Shell plc has been in negotiations with several landowners who own property around a site in western Pennsylvania that the company is considering for a “world class” ethane cracker, a sign that Shell could be moving forward with the project.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced Thursday that a Brazilian company, Odebrecht Organization, will explore the possibility of building a multibillion-dollar ethane cracker and three polyethylene plants in Wood County.

Occidental Chemical Corp. (OxyChem) and Mexichem S.A.B. de C.V. (Mexichem) have formed joint venture (JV) Ingleside Ethylene LLC to build a 1.2 billion-pound-per-year capacity ethylene cracker at the OxyChem plant in Ingleside, TX, along with pipelines and storage at Markham, TX, the partners said Thursday.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has issued air permits to Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. (CPChem) LP, moving plans for a 3.3 billion pounds/year ethane cracker and two new polyethylene facilities on Texas’ Gulf Coast one step closer to reality, the company said.

A legislator in the Pennsylvania General Assembly introduced two bills on Wednesday to amend the state constitution and make the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) a commissioner post elected by the public, rather than one appointed by the governor.

As Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia battle it out for an ethane cracker, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) is touting the benefits of building such a facility at the other end of the Rust Belt.

Growing natural gas liquids (NGL) production — particularly that of ethane — is a positive story for the petrochemical industry as well as oil and gas producers. However, talk of an NGL glut is growing louder as the industry continues to grow production — particularly from liquids-rich shale plays — and build out infrastructure. Opinions vary on what is to come.