PTT Global Chemical continues to work on plans for the Belmont County property that could be the home of an ethane cracker plant, but the Thai company has not yet made a final decision on the plant. Ethane from Marcellus and Utica shale wells would be transformed into ethylene at the $5.7 million plant.

Currently, Marcellus and Utica ethane is shipped to the Gulf Coast for processing, so the ethane cracker would cut down on transportation costs, according to The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register.

An Ohio State University professor speculates that the plant could create thousands of construction jobs. The plant could also fill apartments and hotel rooms up to an hour away in places like East Liverpool, Marietta and Zanesville, Ohio.

Via: The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register > OSU Professor an ‘Optimist’ About Ethane Cracker

More about the ethane cracker:

• Will decisions be made about Ohio River ethane crackers in 2016? Dec. 31, 2015
• Early work on Belmont County ethane cracker to be finished by mid-2016 Nov. 25, 2015
• PTT Global Chemical to invest $100M in Belmont County site Sept. 5, 2015
• Company planning to build ethane cracker in Belmont County offered incentives from JobsOhio May 30, 2015
• Thai company looking for third partner for Belmont County ethane cracker May 24, 2015
• Belmont County could be home to future $5 billion cracker plant April 23, 2015