Shell's cracker plant in the Appalachian Basin has a jump start on the industry.

PENN VALLEY, PA, US, August 27, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- It’s been very unfortunate that Hurricane Laura is bashing the petrochemical industry in the Gulf of Mexico. Laura is causing the shutdowns and damage again in the many petrochemicals companies.

When Hurricane Harvey occurred, it was viewed as a once-in-a-century hurricane. Now, three years later the Gulf of Mexico is experiencing another major hurricane that is causing major damage and disruption to the petrochemical industry.

Future occurrences of hurricanes of this magnitude seem very likely. Yale Climate Connections states “Major hurricanes are by far the world’s costliest natural weather disasters, in some cases causing well over $100 billion in damage. There’s now evidence that the unnatural effects of human-caused global warming are already making hurricanes stronger and more destructive. The latest research shows the trend is likely to continue as long as the climate continues to warm.” Joe Barone, President and Founder, Shale Directories commented, “This fact is really common knowledge. As weather gets warmer, the hurricanes become more devastating.”

A short review of the current situation among petrochemical companies finds that the industry has been maximizing profits over the last few years with low feedstock costs. They have been running flat out and postponing scheduled maintenance outages. Most thought that this year the massive capacity build would be driving down prices and be an ideal time to take a long overdue deep maintenance shutdown.

“Realizing the industry’s strong position, now is the time to move manufacturing to the Appalachian where feedstock costs will even be lower,” said Tom Gellrich, CEO and Founder, Topline Analytics. He further added, “Manufacturing facilities in the Appalachian Basin will be more profitable because 70% of the plastics market is one-day’s drive from this region. COVID-19 has substantially increased the demand for polyethylene and most of this demand is coming from the Northeast and Midwest.”

Gellrich added, “The Shell cracker plant under construction in Monaca, Pennsylvania will be a major money winner from the first day of production, and the move by PTTGCA into the Appalachian Basin is a very smart one.”

A few of the major petrochemicals companies like ExxonMobil, TOTAL and others have visited the region. None of have made any moves.
The readiness and availability of the Appalachian Basin will be discussed in detail at the upcoming 4th Annual Appalachian Storage Hub Conference on November 5, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The conference is produced by Shale Directories and TopLine Analytics.

“This year’s conference will be our most informative with experts presenting compelling reasons why petrochemical companies need to make the move from the Gulf of Mexico to the Appalachian Basin,” said Barone.

Joe Barone
Tesla NanoCoatings
+1 610-764-1232
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