Petrochemicals & Plastics
Schemes to produce plastics from fracked gas have largely failed in Appalachia.
Petrochemical development hasn’t generated economic prosperity in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, research shows, and market headwinds make new buildout unlikely. Learn more about the Ohio River Valley Institute’s research on the petrochemicals industry below.
Photo: Shell’s petrochemicals complex in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Mark Dixon, 2022
“Years ago, the oil and gas industry predicted petrochemical development would sweep across Appalachia, creating tens of thousands of jobs.
Those plans largely fizzled.”
Reports:
All research on Petrochemicals & Plastics:
The Macroproblem of Microplastics
Nurdles are too small to be effectively cleaned up once they escape into the environment, yet petrochemical companies ship billions upon billions of nurdles from production sites to factories all over the world.
Top economists tell OH, PA, WV governors petrochemical boom is a non-starter
The following public letter concerning economic development, the petrochemical industry, and the need for more viable and sustainable strategies was sent to the governors of Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania on June 15, 2020. See this background brief to learn...
Background brief: A letter to the governors
On June 15, 2020 a group of seven prominent economists and policy analysts from leading universities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia and a former Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection, wrote a public letter to the governors of the three states...
Tales of the Shale Crescent Part 1: “But They Have Studies!”
Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on efforts to bring about the petrochemical boom are likely being squandered.