Planning Continues for Fracking and Cracking

Shell Cuts 6,500 Jobs Around the World — Pennsylvania ethane cracker air quality permits challenged

From an Article by Casey Junkins, Wheeling Intelligencer, August 11, 2015

Wheeling, WV — Just a 45-minute drive from Weirton, global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell hopes to build a multi-billion-dollar petrochemical complex that would consume some Marcellus and Utica shale ethane, much of which is now going to the Gulf Coast via pipeline.

However, the firm is now cutting 6,500 jobs around the world with oil prices less than half the level they were on at this time last year. The Philadelphia-based Clean Air Council and the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project are now challenging the air quality permits Shell received from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to build the Monaca, Pa. ethane cracker on property formerly owned by the Horsehead Corp.

“The council’s members include individuals who have reasonable concerns regarding Shell’s petrochemical facility, including health risks, environmental impacts and other effects on their quality of life,” the objection signed by council attorney Augusta Wilson states in the document submitted to the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.

“We appreciate that some groups often times file appeals to such permit decisions. We believe the concerns raised were addressed during the plan approval process and we look forward to resolving this appeal in the most expeditious manner possible,” Shell spokeswoman Kimberly Windon added.

If constructed, a cracker complex would crack the ethane into ethylene, which is used as a basis for plastics and resins contained in items such as food packaging, textiles and pharmaceuticals. The project would likely bring thousands of temporary constructions jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs.

However, as Wilson states, these plants would also bring certain air pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to these materials contributes to eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, nausea and damage to the liver and kidneys.

“Shell estimates that the plant will release more than 50 tons of volatile organic compounds as fugitives from leaking pumps, valves, compressor seals, and connector flanges at the petrochemical plant each year,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, the entire oil and natural gas industry continues dealing with low prices that are hurting their bottom lines. Compared to the $4.7 billion Shell collected for oil and natural gas exploration in the 2014 second quarter, Shell earned only about $1 billion such work from April 1 to June 30. Much of this loss in profits is attributed to lower oil prices, which dipped below $44 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday. This is down from around $100 per barrel at this time last year.

Natural gas prices, according to the NYMEX, are also down by about $1.20 per 1,000 cubic-foot unit over the same time period.

“These are challenging times for the industry, and we are responding with urgency and determination, but also with a great sense of excitement for the future,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said. “We have to be resilient in a world where oil prices remain low for some time, whilst keeping an eye on recovery.”