Pa. Still Seeking 'Cracker'

PITTSBURGH - Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley said his state may lead Ohio and West Virginia in the battle to land Royal Dutch Shell's ethane cracker, but he knows the game is far from finished.

"At the end of the first quarter, we are up by two touchdowns," he said Tuesday during the Marcellus Midstream Conference & Exhibition at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. "But we know we still have to work hard to finish the game."

Cawley noted Shell's announcement last week that the company has an option to build its multibillion-dollar ethane cracker near Monaca, Pa., along the Ohio River is not a done deal. Shell plans to conduct more engineering design studies, continue to assess the local ethane supply and study the overall viability of such a project at Monaca. This follows months of speculation regarding where the company would build the large petrochemical complex.

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