After five years of construction, more than $6 billion in capital investment, and millions of hours by the highly skilled workers of the region’s building trades, the Shell Polymers Monaca in Beaver County has officially come online.
One of the largest construction sites in North America and employing thousands of local workers during the building phase, approximately 600 fulltime employees are using regionally-produced ethane derived from natural gas to manufacture ~1.6 million tons of polyethylene annually for making essential plastic products.
“This is a historic day for Pennsylvania and an important case study of how competitive, pro-energy job policies can create sustained economic growth for the Commonwealth and our nation,” Marcellus Shale Coalition president David Callahan said.
In total, about $22.4 billion in labor income will be generated by operations over the next 40 years and Pennsylvania’s total value-add is projected to reach $82 billion, according to Robert Morris University.
“Built by thousands of our talented and hardworking regional building trades partners, Shell’s world-class manufacturing facility is enhancing our quality of life by turning natural gas liquids into the building blocks for essential consumer goods and medical supplies,” Callahan continued.
Here’s more on what they are saying about the project:
“We have generations worth of supplies, not only to meet our own needs here in the region and in this nation, but to help our friends overseas who desperately need energy and are looking to reliable energy from Pennsylvania,” said MSC’s David Callahan.
After years of construction, Shell ethane cracker starts up
Years in the works, a massive petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania fed by the vast natural gas reservoir underneath Appalachia became fully operational Tuesday.
Shell begins cracker plant operations in Beaver County
Shell Polymers Senior Vice President Hilary Mercer announced the facility’s opening in a Tuesday statement, but crews have been producing plastic pellets for “several weeks,” Mercer told The Times.
Located along the Ohio River in Potter Township, the multi-billion-dollar petrochemical complex will convert natural gas into polyethylene used in plastics manufacturing. The plant is expected to produce up to 1.6 million tons of polyethylene each year to make products like flexible food packaging, sports equipment, toys, crates, shampoo bottles and milk cartons.
Shell’s ethane cracker, a mammoth plastics plant near Pittsburgh, begins operations
“Building this world-class facility is a fantastic achievement and one the team can be proud of; it’s a showcase of Shell’s project delivery expertise,” said Huibert Vigeveno, Shell downstream director.
Shell cracker plant begins operation in Beaver County
Allegheny Conference on Community Development CEO Stefani Pashman said she expects the plant to support job growth up to 11,000 indirect and induced jobs. Officials believe the cracker plant can lead to an increase in plastic-related manufacturing jobs for the Pittsburgh region.
“The opening of Shell Polymers Monaca facility demonstrates the power of placing big bets that position the Pittsburgh region for the future,” said Pashman. “By leveraging our unique assets — including natural resources; water, road, and rail transportation infrastructure; and geographical positioning — new long-term strategic opportunities are opening for our region.”
Shell Ramps Up Pennsylvania Petrochemical Project, Fueled by Marcellus and Utica Natural Gas
The ramp up “represents an important step in growing Shell’s chemicals business as part of its Powering Progress strategy,” the London-based supermajor noted. The company is using “value chains” closer to end-use customers and using advantaged feedstocks, while reducing exposure over time to commodity chemicals. “In delivering this facility, we’ve had a strong and innovative safety focus,” Vigeveno said. Shell has “invested in the community through employment and education, and helped repair and improve the local environment by remediating a brownfield site. These commitments are core to Shell’s Powering Progress strategy today and will remain so in the years to come.”
Operations underway at Shell cracker plant in Beaver County after near decade of construction
“I think it’s the best thing for Beaver County in 35 years since all the steel mills went down,” neighbor David Shaffer tells Channel 11. An independent report from Robert Morris University suggests economic activity from the facility could amount to around $3.7 billion each year statewide, including $31 million in local and state tax coffers.
Beaver County Shell cracker plant starts operations
Most ethylene production is on the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana. Shell says the location gives it a competitive advantage, with more than 70% of the U.S. polyethylene market within 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) of Pittsburgh. Annual U.S. ethane consumption has doubled in the past decade as demand for ethylene has grown. Ethane consumption recently rose above 2 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Energy. Shell’s plant in western Pennsylvania is estimated to add 96,000 barrels per day of ethane feedstock capacity, the agency said.
Shell cracker plant in Beaver County begins operations
“It’s a huge economic investment one of the biggest Pennsylvania has seen in recent history. But the jobs can’t be understated,” said David Callahan, Marcellus Shale Coalition president. Shell has said it will create 600 permanent jobs. Shell Polymers Monaca sits on 384 acres adjacent to the Ohio River in Beaver County.
Shell opens major polyethylene manufacturing complex in Pennsylvania
The facility represents an important step in growing Shell’s chemicals business as part of its Powering Progress initiative. Also, as evidenced by SPM, the company is increasingly participating in value chains closer to end-use customers and using advantaged feedstocks to deliver more high value products while reducing exposure to commodity chemicals over time.
