Pennsylvania Dutch
W.Va., Pa. competing hard for Shell ethane cracker by Xg123
Prompted by the possibility of capturing a multibillion-dollar project that could employ thousands, West Virginia and Pennsylvania elected officials tried hard this week to persuade Shell Chemical to build an ethane cracker in their state.
I will do everything in my power to make sure that West Virginia is positioned to take full advantage of this opportunity, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said in his State of the State address Wednesday. The American Chemistry Council estimates that we could create an additional 12,000 manufacturing jobs in West Virginia with the construction of an ethane cracker.
The Houston-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell has said it will announce soon where in the Appalachian Basin it will locate an ethane cracker to take advantage of the surge of natural gas liquids production from the Marcellus and Utica shales.
Kimberly Osborne, Tomblins press secretary, said Thursday that the Democratic governor will propose a bill that will effectively reduce personal property taxes for a company that built an ethane cracker in West Virginia that had a minimum of $2 billion in investment. Instead of taxing the property at 5% of its original value for 10 years as current law provides, the legislation would extend the salvage value tax treatment of 5% for 25 years.
Meanwhile, US Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania urged Shell President Mark Quartermain in a January 12 letter to locate the cracker in Pennsylvania because the state is at the epicenter of the rapidly growing Marcellus shale natural gas industry.
The Democrat said his state has a proven workforce, access to water, communities with a long history of working cooperatively with industry, an extensive rail transportation network and appropriate real estate. Pennsylvania also has an exceptional higher education network which will mesh well with Shells commitment to innovation.
Petrochemical plants are not without risks, but I have faith that Shells long experience will help it to design and build its facilities to run cleanly, safely and efficiently, Casey said. I am optimistic that a Shell facility will be the foundation of an industrial and manufacturing expansion that will bring thousands of construction and production jobs to Pennsylvania.
Ohio is also is competing for the cracker, but a spokesman for Governor John Kasich has declined to say what if any incentives the state is offering to induce Shell to put the operation in the Buckeye State.
Chevron, Statoil and Repsol, through joint ventures, will explore for oil and gas offshore Canada in the Orphan Basin, Flemish Pass Basin and Beaufort Sea, Chevron said Thursday.
The three will explore offshore Canada in the Atlantic basins and Chevron and Statoil will explore the Canadian Beaufort Sea, Chevron said in a statement.
In the Orphan Basin, offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, the three companies plan an exploration well to begin activities this year. Chevron will be the operator and have a 65% interest, with Repsol having 20% and Statoil 15%.
Also offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, the companies have two exploration parcels in the Flemish Pass Basin. Statoil will be the operator with a 50% interest; Chevron will have 40% and Repsol 10%.
Chevron and Statoil plan a 3D seismic program for the Beaufort Sea, located offshore the Northwest Territories. Chevron will be the operator with a 60% stake and Statoil will have the remaining 40%.
These agreements significantly strengthen our exploration position in Atlantic Canada and in the Beaufort Sea and reaffirm our commitment to achieving long-term growth in Canada, Jeff Lehrmann, Chevron Canadas president, said in the statement. We look forward to working with Statoil and Repsol to achieve exploration success in these highly prospective basins.
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