(NGI – November 14, 2013) Brazil's Odebrecht Picks West Virginia for Cracker, Polyethylene Plants
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/
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.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Pennsylvania, conflicting reports have emerged over the status of a cracker proposed by a unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc.
Tomblin and Odebrecht officials said the Ascent (Appalachian Shale Cracker Enterprise) complex would include water treatment and energy co-generation infrastructure. They said the proposed facility's proximity to the Marcellus and Utica shales and existing infrastructure made the site near Washington, WV, an attractive one.
Less than 200 miles away, Shell Chemical LP has proposed a "world scale" ethane cracker on a 300-acre site near Monaca, PA, in Beaver County (see Shale Daily, March 16, 2012).
Speculation has run rampant recently over the status of the project. Last month, Rusty Braziel, an analyst with RBN Energy Inc., told the Wall Street Journal that he doubted the project would move forward, while outgoing Shell CEO Peter Voser indicated that plans for the cracker could be scrapped in an interview with the Financial Times.
