Shell officials are cautiously optimistic that the company’s proposed multibillion- dollar petrochemical plant in western Pennsylvania will one day be built. Via the Associated Press, Shell executive Dan Carlson on Wednesday told an audience at a public meeting Shell’s option to buy a 300-acre site on the Ohio River and multiple supply contracts do not guarantee its plan for a massive ethane cracker will come to fruition. Carlson did say, however, that Shell is encouraged by the community’s response so far and that a final decision on the project could come within one or two years.
Recent forecasts have shown that global demand for ethylene is set to grow by 3% annually over the next 15 years.
