Ohio Vies for Huge Petrochemical Plant

Three states, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are vying for the biggest capital investment the area has seen in decades. Shell Oil Company is planning a huge petrochemical refinery.
The scale of the multibillion-dollar project is unlike anything seen for decades in the region, said David Hounshell, a professor of technology and social change at Carnegie Mellon University. It will be a true game changer for an area that has tried to focus on service sector jobs since the 1980's. Governor John Kasich is reported to have flown to Houston to present Ohio's case for the plant's location. The facility is an ethylene cracker that would convert natural gas to ethylene which is used to produce plastics, anti freeze, and even finds its way into automobile tires. Most ethylene crackers are located in Texas and Louisiana near the the source of natural gas. This investment is a huge bet on the future of the Marcellus and Utica gas fields. Recently the US
Geological Survey dramatically increased its estimate of reserves in the Marcellus, from 2 trillion cubic feet to 84 trillion.

The American Chemistry Council in a recent report, estimated the new petrochemical complex could attract up to $16 billion in private investment and create more than 17,000 jobs and billions in tax revenue.