CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A spokesman for the Tomblin administration says West Virginia was in contention for the ethane cracker plant that is expected to be built in Belmont County, Ohio.
Tomblin administration Communications Director Chris Stadelman said Wednesday on MetroNews Talkline the state heard from PTT Global chemical last week that the Ohio site was a better fit.
“It’s nothing about our tax base, nothing about our tort system, the problem was the site they liked in West Virginia was too far from where the natural gas was being produced,” Stadelman said.
The site under consideration was in Mason County.
“We were certainly willing to work with them to try and get a pipeline built to get it (natural gas) there, but that’s not an easy process. That’s a multi-year process. In the end, our understanding is they are looking closer to the raw material source.”
An announcement was scheduled Wednesday in St. Clairsville, Ohio, right across the river from West Virginia’s northern panhandle, concerning plans to locate the plant in the Shadyside, Ohio area.
West Virginia’s cracker project in Wood County is currently on hold. Stadelman said Braskem America CEO Fernando Musa met wit Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and state Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette Tuesday in Charleston.
“It’s a purely financial decision based on energy prices and worldwide conditions,” Stadelman said. “They are still very happy with the site in Wood County, with the business climate in West Virginia, with the employee base we are going to be able to generate.”
The price of oil has plummeted leaving Braskem and its partner Odebrecht to reevaluate the Wood County ASCENT project. It’s now cheaper to get ethane from oil than natural gas.
“The problem has nothing to do with anything that we can fix,” Stadelman said. “It’s just watching how this worldwide market evolves.”
Musa told the publication Chemical Week last week the West Virginia site still has its advantages. He said it would be close to the majority of the market for the product the ethane cracker would produce.
Stadelman said the pause is really not out of character for either company.
“With an investment of this magnitude and the changes in the worldwide energy markets, re-evaluating the best configuration for the project is understandable and consistent with the company’s overall approach,” he said.