Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC has successfully installed its quench tower — the largest piece of equipment at its Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex, which is currently under construction.
Since the start of main construction in November 2017, Shell has also safely erected two of three reactors associated with planned polyethylene units and laid around 15 miles of underground pipe for cooling, firewater and drainage systems.
Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC has successfully installed its quench tower - the largest piece of equipment at its Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex.
The project is bringing economic growth and jobs to the region, with some 3,000 workers currently on-site. That number will likely increase to 6,000 by the end of 2019 through its construction phase. Shell expects around 600 on-site jobs when the complex is completed.
The complex will include four processing units: an ethane cracker and three polyethylene units. Tw o polyethylene units will manufacture high-density polyethylene grades of pellets, and a third unit will produce linear low-density polyethylene pellets.
“It’s great to see our world-class complex taking shape,” said Graham van’t Hoff, executive vice president for Shell’s global chemicals business. “The project is providing more economic opportunities in Pennsylvania and the region.”
At approximately 2,000 tons and 87 meters tall, the quench tower spent nearly three-and-a-half weeks being towed up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Upon arrival in Pennsylvania, it was unloaded onto a dock and transported down a newly created road — both specially designed to handle the large quench tower.
For more information, visit www.shell.c o m or call (832) 337-4355.
