Plastic Junk on the Rise!
PTT Global Making $100 Million Investment for Ethane Cracker in Ohio Valley
From Articles by Casey Junkins, Wheeling Intelligencer, September 3 & 4, 2015
Columbus, OH – Ohio Gov. John Kasich believes PTT Global Chemical is on third base and heading for home in terms of building its $5.7 billion ethane cracker in Belmont County, Ohio. The Thailand-based firm on Thursday committed to spend $100 million of its own money for engineering and design plans at the Dilles Bottom site.
“Building an ethane gas cracker in eastern Ohio has the ability to be a real game changer for our economy as we make our state a hub for the energy industry,” Kasich said Thursday at the Statehouse. “The company’s decision to start the engineering phase of this potential project is an enormous step toward making this project a reality.”
PTT President and CEO Supattanapong Punmeechaow said PTT America will take up to a year to determine the feasibility of a world-scale petrochemical complex. If constructed at the FirstEnergy R.E. Burger site and surrounding property, the project would create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs.
The ethane cracker would convert ethane extracted from the region’s Marcellus and Utica shale formations into ethylene, which is used as a basis for plastics and resins contained in everyday items such as food and product packaging, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
Punmeechaow said PTTGC America has signed contracts with two consortiums of prestigious engineering firms led by Bechtel Enterprises Holdings Inc. and Fluor Corp., which will conduct the preliminary front-end engineering design work and cost estimates.
Thailand-based PTT Global and partner Marubeni Corp. of Tokyo have been exploring the possibility of building this petrochemical complex, which would include the 130-acre FirstEnergy Corp. R.E. Burger Plant and some adjoining property in the vicinity of the Ohio River and Ohio 7.
The Asian firms are supposed to make a final investment decision by the end of next year. FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said the electricity company was moving forward to demolish the Burger plant, but said any talk of future development for the property would be premature.
Other potential cracker plants in the Marcellus and Utica region include the Odebrecht ASCENT Project possibility for Wood County, WV as well as the Royal Dutch Shell plant in Monaca, PA. Both Odebrecht and Shell have applied for air quality permits to allow construction of their plants, but have not indicated a final investment decision.
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CB&I Wins Early Works Contract for Proposed Ethane Cracker in Lake Charles, LA
From a Press Release by CB&I, September 1, 2015
CB&I has announced it has been awarded an early works contract by LACC, LLC, a joint venture between Axiall Corporation and Lotte Chemical Corporation, to provide additional detailed engineering and early procurement services associated with the proposed LACC Ethane Cracker Project in Lake Charles, Louisiana. This new scope of work follows CB&I’s previous supply of its proprietary ethylene technology and front-end engineering design (FEED) services to LACC, LLC.
The parties continue to evaluate the construction of a cracker with the capacity to produce approximately one million metric tons of ethylene annually employing CB&I’s latest, proven ethylene technology, including highly selective SRT® cracking heaters and its innovative recovery section design, featuring low pressure separation and mixed refrigeration to minimize investment costs.
“CB&I (formerly Chicago Bridge & Iron) has worked closely with Axiall Corporation and Lotte Chemical to develop this project from the beginning,” said Patrick K. Mullen, President of CB&I’s Engineering & Construction operating group. “We are pleased to affirm our relationship with both companies and look forward to supporting this important initiative.”
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