(ICIS) -- Bayer has received several inquiries regarding the use of its West Virginia sites for an ethane cracker, a top company executive said on Thursday. Bayer said in December it was exploring the idea of potential investors using one of its two sites in West Virginia for a cracker using ethane derived from Marcellus shale.
⌠We have had several inquiries, said Greg Babe, head of Bayer MaterialScience and CEO of Bayer Corp in the US. Bayer Corp, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the US subsidiary of the Bayer group. ⌠Starting in December of last year, when our offers have hit the news waves, we have had several inquiries, ongoing discussions, since then, Babe said.
Shell announced in June it was developing plans for a world-scale cracker in the Appalachian region of the US, but it has not made a site decision. Babe said he was open to either leasing or selling land on one of the Bayer sites for a cracker. An ⌠outspoken supporter of reinvigorating manufacturing in the United States, Babe said the rich ethane content of the Marcellus shale gas reserves makes West Virginia a logical place for an ethane cracker.