Shell Oil plant would boost jobs in Ohio

By Mark Williams

Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS

Ohio stands to gain thousands of jobs even if the state loses out on the prized petrochemical plant that Shell Oil plans for Appalachia, experts say.

Shell is expected to announce by the end of March where it will build the plant, which is being developed to capitalize on the abundant supplies of natural gas that are starting to be tapped in the region’s Marcellus and Utica shales.

The fight for the plant, called a “cracker” because it breaks down large molecules of oil and gas into smaller ones, pits Ohio against Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Each state offers big inducements to win what would be a major economic-development achievement.

According to an estimate by the American Chemistry Society, if a plant valued at more than $3 billion were built in Ohio, it could result in more than 17,000 jobs in the state, generating at least $1 billion in wages annually and $169 million in tax revenue for Ohio.

“This is the best thing that’s probably ever happened to the chemical industry in Ohio,” Jack Pounds, president of the Ohio Chemical Technology Council, said of the plant. The council represents the state’s chemical companies.

Ohio’s chemical industry could use a boost. Employment has dropped by about 30 percent in a decade to about 40,000 jobs, he said.

The plant would process ethane from natural gas to produce ethylene, a key building block for the petrochemical industry that eventually can be used for packaging, adhesives, automotive components and pipe.

For Ohio-based chemical companies, close access to the kind of plant that Shell plans to build, whether it is in Ohio or another state, means having good access to affordable raw materials, Pounds said. Couple that with the current cheap price of natural gas and ample nearby supplies, and Ohio’s chemical companies will be competitive with chemical companies in nearly every country, he said.

Even if Pennsylvania or West Virginia beats out Ohio for the plant, the project could mean about 2,500 jobs for Ohio’s chemical industry and an additional 6,000 jobs that would directly or indirectly support those jobs, Pounds said.