Earlier this year, the Pittsburgh Business Times selected Hilary Mercer as a member of its "Power 100," labeling her as a "mover and shaker" and someone who is adding energy, connectivity and excitement to the region. Mercer has served as vice present of Shell Polymers and the Pennsylvania Chemicals Project since August 2017.
Shell is constructing a major petrochemical complex in western Pennsylvania, and according to Mercer, the company saw two major geographic advantages for this location.
"First, the facility is located close to natural gas supply from the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations," Mercer said. "Second, the location is at an advantage, considering the balance of North America's market for polyethylene. More than 70 percent of the continent's polyethylene market sits within a 700- mile radius of Pittsburgh. This is noteworthy because distances across the North American chemical supply chain often run two or three times that distance."
The overall site measures approximately 800 acres, with a core manufacturing and logistics area of approximately 386 acres. Located along the Ohio River in Potter Township in Beaver County, the site is approximately 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
When completed, the facility will include:
- An ethane cracker with an approximate annual average capacity of 1.5 million metric tons of ethylene.
- Three polyethylene units with a combined annual production of approximately 1.6 million metric tons.
- Power and steam generation, storage, logistics, cooling water and water treatment, emergency flare, office buildings and warehouses.
According to Mercer, Shell has not specified a specific timeframe for completion of construction. Shell anticipates it will transition the site into an operational facility "at some point in the early 2020s."
"In the first quarter of 2020, the site had reached a peak workforce of approximately 8,000 construction workers," Mercer said. "In March, we temporarily halted construction to make modifications to the site and find ways of working in light of COVID-19 concerns. A phased ramp-up, allowing for the reintroduction of workforce and continuation of safe and responsible construction activities, began in May. We have been reintroducing workers to the site ever since."
After construction, 600 workers will be on-site for the permanent operations phase.
A lifetime in industry
Mercer's career with Shell spans more than 33 years, and it has taken her all over the world. Prior to managing Shell Polymers and the Pennsylvania Chemicals Project, she was responsible for Shell's worldwide portfolio of integrated gas projects, which included onshore and floating LNG (FLNG), regasification and other gas-related projects. Mercer served as executive director for Shell's Prelude FLNG project in Geoje Island, South Korea, and was instrumental in leading it to successful "sail-away."
"As a child, the one thing I wanted - and never actually got - was a globe," Mercer said. "I was fascinated by all the countries in the world and what happened in them, and I was determined to travel. This is something my roles with Shell have certainly delivered on."
A native of Manchester, England, Mercer graduated from Oxford University with a degree in engineering science. She is a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Association of Project Management. Mercer comes from a family of engineers, and she is actively engaged in the promotion of engineering as a profession, encouraging greater female participation in the industry.
"My grandfather had his own building firm, my father is a civil engineer, my brother is an electrical engineer and my mother worked for a company of quantity surveyors," she said. "On school holidays, my father used to take me to power stations, so I always knew I wanted to work in an industry that really matters like the energy industry. My first role was as a maintenance engineer at Shell's Stanlow refinery in the North of England, a refinery I had often passed as a child going to visit my relatives. I spent seven years there, and it was great preparation for what was to come."
According to Mercer, a number of people have helped or inspired her throughout her career. One person who stands out is Domonique Boot, the manager of the Stanlow refinery where Mercer first worked.
"He arranged a role for me in the Shell Technical Center in The Hague," Mercer said. "I remember him saying, 'You probably won't like the role, but take it. When you get there, find yourself another role.' It was great advice and really set me on the career path I follow today.
"The best advice I can give someone is to do something you really enjoy. Also, dare to challenge yourself. The first project I was offered to lead was in Oman, a country in the Middle East where I had never been. On-site, there was me and 6,000 men, but it was one of the best experiences of my career. I also met my husband there."
When asked what a typical day is like for her, Mercer explained that there isn't such a thing, which is what makes her role so rewarding.
"My day could include items such as performing safety walks on our construction site, talking to CSX about our future rail negotiations, challenging our asset folks about how we can use digital technology to improve our overall plant uptime, or having discussions with customers at Steelers games," Mercer said. "Right now, my focus is on getting the facility constructed amidst a backdrop of serious challenges because of the COVID- 19 pandemic. I'm especially proud of how our project in Pennsylvania has procured an on-site testing lab, which provides test results within approximately four hours. This has proven to be a very effective tool in helping us keep workers safe and mitigate our on-site COVID-19 related risks."
Mercer emphasized that running enormous construction sites or operating facilities gives her a tremendous amount of responsibility to ensure workers go home safely at the end of each day.
"After there was a fatality while I was working in Sakhalin, Russia, I realized some of the people who worked for us didn't really understand the risks of the work they were performing," Mercer said. "My role is to make rules that keep people safe and ensure they understand why these rules really matter."
Making a positive impact
According to Mercer, Shell's global reach has been apparent since the company was formed in 1907, resulting from a merger of a Dutch company and a British company. Since that time, Shell's workers and its energy customers have felt the positive impacts Shell has had in virtually every corner of the world.
"Today, we are an inherently diverse company within an industry that has historically faced diversity challenges," Mercer said. "We have more to do to promote diversity within our own company, and we are working diligently to do so. Recognizing that, I am proud of Shell's commitment to fostering and maintaining a diverse workforce across the globe as we provide critical energy resources to our customers."
An ongoing challenge Mercer has been facing is finding and retaining qualified workers. During the very early stages of the Pennsylvania Chemicals Project, Shell partnered with local building trades unions to maximize the number of local and regional workers on-site.
"We also partnered with approximately 40 other local employers and the Community College of Beaver County to create a two-year process technology degree program," Mercer explained. "And while such programs are relatively common on the Gulf Coast, there wasn't a comparable program within a 300- mile radius of our location. We developed a strong partnership, and Shell donated $1 million to help build the Shell Center for Process Technology Education."
Mercer admitted the industry is now going through a bit of a rough patch, but it always survives and comes back to flourish.
"My bottom-line view is that a world with 7 billion people and a growing population is going to need tremendous energy sources to survive and thrive," she said. "I am confident in the future of the energy industry. What forms or sources that energy will take, I will leave to others to debate."
For more information, visit www.shell.us/polymers or call (855) 697-4355.
