Following a year spent mostly rebounding from COVID’s impact by keeping production flat as prices climbed, the oil and gas industry in Ohio and Pennsylvania are poised to see a number of areas of growth in 2022, according to Natural Gas Intelligence.

Ethane Crackers

The Pennsylvania petrochemical Complex, an ethane cracker being developed by Shell plc, is expected to come online in 2022. The facility is situated northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River and would produce polyethylene and ethylene for Appalachia-sourced ethane.

Furthermore, a second ethane cracker has been proposed by Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical plc and the final investment decision on the project is expected this year. The facility would be downriver from Shell’s project in Belmont County, Ohio, and Range Resources Corp. has agreed to be the anchor ethane supplier.

Funding for orphan well plugging

President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has earmarked $4.7 billion for orphaned oil and gas well site plugging, remediation and restoration. Of that total, Pennsylvania is expected to receive $395 million for its orphan well program.

Although the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has yet to release any exact figures on what it expects to receive from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, it, too, is pursuing and will receive funds to allocate to plug orphaned wells.

Mountain Valley Pipeline to come online

Despite a number of regulatory hurdles, the Mountain Valley Pipeline is expected to come online in 2022. Upon completion, it will expand its current capacity to carry natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia and other southeastern U.S. markets.

Read more: Appalachia NGL Feedstock Looking to Support Region’s Petrochemical Growth In 2022