Shell’s petrochemical complex in Western Pennsylvania has had plenty of challenges on its way to startup and full operation. Announced a dozen years ago, the project was set back by COVID-related construction delays and a rougher-than-expected production ramp-up. But that’s all in the past now (fingers crossed) and the ethane-rich Northeast finally has its first big ethylene plant. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll examine Shell’s return to plastics and what it took to get there.
Shell joined the rush of chemical producers building new manufacturing complexes in the 2010s to pump out ethylene as the Shale Revolution unearthed an abundance of cheap U.S. ethane to feed them. But rather than build along the petrochemical-heavy — and permit-friendly — Gulf Coast where competitors added and expanded plants, Shell broke the mold when it picked Western Pennsylvania, in the middle of the gas-and-NGL-rich Marcellus/Utica shale play. Natural gas processing plants were being built in the region, with MPLX leading the charge, to process and separate mixed NGLs into purity products to be moved to markets via pipeline or truck. Shell’s decision to build a massive petchem complex on a former zinc smelter site alongside the Ohio River northwest of Pittsburgh (see Figure 1 below) was intended to (A) set up very close to its feedstock source to cut ethane transportation costs and (B) operate in a region that is home to the majority of domestic demand for polyethylene (PE), which is made from the polymerization of ethylene. Initially estimated to cost $6 billion, CEO Wael Sawan noted in February that the company aimed to ensure the “$14 billion or so of capital employed” in the project generates returns.
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About the song
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was written by Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson and appears as the first song on side one of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s first studio album together, United. Dusty Springfield wanted to record the song first, but Ashford and Simpson declined, hoping it would be their ticket to being writers for Motown artists. Recorded at Motown’s Hitsville USA studios in Detroit in December 1966, it was released as a single by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in April 1967. It went to #3 on the Billboard Hot R&B chart and #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Diana Ross released the song as a single from her first solo studio album, Diana Ross, in July 1970. It went to #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B and Hot 100 Singles charts. Personnel on the Gaye-Terrell version were: Marvin Gaye (vocals), Tammi Terrell (vocals), and The Funk Brothers, featuring James Jamerson on bass, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (instrumentation).
United was recorded between December 1966 and June 1967 at Hitsville USA in Detroit. Produced by Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol, Hal Davis and Berry Gordy Jr., the album was released in August 1967. It went to #7 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart and #64 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Three singles were released from the LP.
Marvin Gaye was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and musician. He helped shape the sound of Motown music in the 1960s. He released three studio albums with Tammi Terrell. As a solo artist, he released 25 studio albums, four live albums, 24 compilation albums, one soundtrack album and 83 singles. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and NAACP Hall of Fame and has a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Gaye was shot and killed at his Los Angeles home by his father in April 1984. He was 44 years old.
Tammi Terrell (Thomasina Winifred Montgomery) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. Primarily known for her duets with Marvin Gaye, she released three studio albums with Gaye, and one with Chuck Jackson. After collapsing into Gaye’s arms at a concert in October 1967, Terrell was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. After eight surgeries, Terrell passed away in Philadelphia in March 1970 at the age of 24.
