Shell Chemical LP is studying land near Monaca, Penn., for the petrochemical complex it is considering to use ethane from natural gas produced from the Marcellus shale (OGJ Online, June 6, 2011).
The company has signed a land option agreement with Horsehead Corp., a specialty zinc producer based in Pittsburgh, for a site in Potter and Center Townships in Beaver County. Horsehead is moving a zinc production operation on the land to facilities under construction in North Carolina.
If Shell exercises the option, Horsehead would have to vacate the site by Apr. 30, 2014.
When it initially disclosed the project last year, it said it was considering a “world-scale” ethane cracker.
It now says it is considering polyethylene and monoethylene glycol units in addition to the ethane cracker.
“The next steps for this project include additional environmental analysis of the preferred Pennsylvania site, further engineering design studies, assessment of the local ethane supply, and continued evaluation of the economic viability of the project,” Shell said in a press statement.
Bob Tippee | Editor
Bob Tippee has been chief editor of Oil & Gas Journal since January 1999 and a member of the Journal staff since October 1977. Before joining the magazine, he worked as a reporter at the Tulsa World and served for four years as an officer in the US Air Force. A native of St. Louis, he holds a degree in journalism from the University of Tulsa.
