(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Shell hopes to get back in
the global polyethylene (PE) market through its planned petrochemical complex
near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company said on Wednesday.
"We’re not entirely out of the PE business, but we’re out of it in a
reasonable way. We have to get back into it," said Ben van Beurden, executive
vice president of Shell Chemicals. "We’re very clear about that."
Earlier this month, Shell unveiled the Pittsburgh site where it will process
ethane from the abundant natural gas produced in the nearby Marcellus Shale
region. The accompanying ethylene cracker would be the first built in the US
since 2000.
In that announcement, Shell said it was considering PE and monoethylene
glycol (MEG) units to help meet rising demand in the North American market. On
Wednesday, van Beurden was even more forward with the company’s strategy. "You
have to ask yourself what would make the most sense," he said.
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