Ohio, Pa., W.Va. seeking Shell chemical plant

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia officials are waiting to hear which will be the home for a huge new chemical plant that could bring thousands of new jobs and millions of tax dollars to the winning state.

Shell Oil Co. said it will announce a site for the plant early this year but won’t say which state has the lead.

Shell’s plans are driven by the vast natural gas reserves discovered in the Marcellus Shale, a deep formation that lies beneath New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and parts of other states.

The plant eventually could rival Andrew Carnegie’s investment in the steel industry, said C. Alan Walker, secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development.

Walker said he can’t comment on the incentives Pennsylvania has offered for the plant because of a confidentiality agreement. But he said regardless of Shell’s decision, the region is on the verge of an economic transformation because of the vast amounts of low-cost shale gas available.

“We’re going to get a new look from a lot of industries,” Walker said. “It will be the revitalization and reindustrialization” of Pennsylvania.