Shell’s enormous petrochemical refinery in Beaver County began operations this week, five years after construction started and a decade after the facility was guaranteed the largest tax break in state history.
The sprawling complex will produce some 1.6 million metric tons of plastic annually by processing ethane, a natural gas component. The refinery converts the elements into plastic pellets.
State government subsidized the project in 2012 by granting the multinational oil and gas conglomerate $1.7 billion in tax credits. Construction started in 2017.
Supporters say the plant will help to restore some of Pennsylvania’s industrial might. Environmentalists say it will create more plastic pollution and rank among Pennsylvania’s biggest emitters of volatile organic chemicals. They also voice concern about large-scale methane leakage. The state will permit the facility to release 2.2 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of 480,000 cars.
More than 8,500 construction workers were employed in development of the plant, which covers almost 400 acres. The facility is expected to create about 600 permanent jobs and Shell projected it would spend about $6 billion in the development.
But controversy lingers about the wisdom of the state’s subsidy and the questionable benefits of unconditional promotion of the natural gas sector.
A retired Penn State economist who has followed the project closely estimates that the state will spend at least $120,000 annually to subsidize each job at the plant.
The state also continues to underwrite projects promoting natural gas even though lawmakers refuse to tax the sector fairly. The industry has displayed a spotty record of compliance on environmental requirements while vastly overstating its economic and employment impacts. Population continues to decline in many counties where gas drilling is pervasive.
State leaders need to develop a more even-handed outlook considering the dubious benefits of more than a decade of aggressive gas industry promotion. The results demand more restraint.
— The Citizens’ Voice, Wilkes-Barre via TNS
