Shell Chemical will soon open a petrochemical complex on the banks of the Ohio River in Potter Township in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, located 45 minutes northwest of Pittsburgh.
The plant will process ethane from shale gas at an average annual peak production of 1.6 million tons of polyethylene from its derivatives unit, according to an article written by Paul J. Gough in the Pittsburgh Business Times.
The large-scale facility is approximately 98 percent complete, after more than a decade of development. It will be one of Shell’s largest chemical plants, located close to its customer base where more than 70 percent of North American polyethylene customers are within a 700-mile radius of Pittsburgh. The location will provide Shell with a competitive advantage over Gulf Coast operators, limiting its road transport costs. It will also provide customers with a shorter, more dependable supply chain.
Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC, in June 2016, finalized its decision to build the plant, and in November 2017 began making updates on the construction phase. The cost to build the complex was estimated at $6 billion to build.
There will be 140,000 points that will be measured on annually, in addition to ongoing monitoring for leaks, using forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, other video and a sonar technology that checks for hydrogen leaks, said Jim Sewell, environmental manager at Shell Chemical. Shell spent two years doing hydraulic testing and checking for tightness among the pipes and tanks.
They used smart-torque technologies that record the status of every tightened bolt, critical to ensuring there are no leaks, added Sewell. He also said a very valuable tool in helping determine what needs to be done on a specific problem, such as potential erosion, has been regular high-definition drone photography of the site.
Delays in construction resulted from a steady decrease in the number of contractors building the plant, from about 8,500 to about 2,500. Full-time staff are expected to top around 600, with an undisclosed number of contractors helping add job growth in the area.
According to the Shell website, one of the last plants and a major contributor to the workforce in Beaver County for more than a century was St. Joe Lead Company, which mined zinc and lead. The new Shell plant will sit on the former St. Joe site, which closed in 1979.
The new facility is believed to offer new hope for Beaver County residents, creating a bond between the community and industry.
