Is the future of a plastics industry in the Appalachian Basin uncertain?
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Just two years ago, the Trump administration and the chemical industry believed there was a huge growth potential for the development of a plastics manufacturing center in the Appalachian Basin, according to the Courier-Journal.
IHS Markit expected there to be the potential for as many as five ethane cracker plants with the capability to turn ethane from fracking in the Marcellus in Utica shales into ethylene and polyethylene — the most commonly produced petrochemicals and components of plastic products.
However, more recently analysts have concluded that a proposed $5.7 billion ethane plant in Belmont County, Ohio, may never be constructed because of circumstances, including coronavirus pandemic, a crashing economy, cratering oil prices, slowing demand for plastics and what could be the final months of a fossil fuel-friendly Trump administration. The plant’s fate is seen as a sign of trouble for the future of the Appalachian Basin becoming a major petrochemical hub.
Learn more: Courier-Journal > Market headwinds buffet Appalachia’s future as center for petrochemicals
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