POTTER TWP. — U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette called Beaver County’s ethane cracker plant the “future of the American economy” following a Monday tour of the petrochemical facility.
Brouillette, joined by gas industry supporters and regional economic leaders, met with Shell Chemicals staff to talk Appalachian natural gas, petrochemical development and COVID-19’s impact on site construction.
“This is where it all starts,” Brouillette said. “With facilities and infrastructure just like this one. It is so critical, not only to western Pennsylvania or the state of Pennsylvania, but the country and the world.”
After a COVID-19 slowdown, thousands of workers are back on site constructing the $6 billion ethane cracker plant in Potter Township. Once open, the site will convert oil and gas into ethylene, used in plastics manufacturing to make a range of products from automotive parts to food packaging. It will eventually support 600 permanent jobs in the region.
It was Brouillette’s first visit to the plant and his first stop on a two-day trip to the Pittsburgh region.
Brouillette echoed President Donald Trump’s comments that the economy, including natural gas, is experiencing a “V-shaped recovery,” with demand for crude oil and gas improving as nationwide business grows. Demand for products developed by cracker-like facilities is also increasing worldwide, he said, adding that policymakers sometimes forget how products such as hand sanitizer packaging and vital PPE is made.
Taking a strong pro-fracking stance, Brouillette said “100% renewable energy” in America is unrealistic.
“It does not work with the technologies we have today,” he said. “It’s completely dependent on natural gas, nuclear and sometimes coal and hydro to produce baseload power.”
Fracking and horizontal drilling has allowed the United States and Pennsylvania to become leaders in natural gas production, Brouillette said.
When asked what President Donald Trump would do to address climate change if re-elected this November, Brouillette said the president would take an “all of the above” approach to energy production, adding “no one knows” how much of climate change can be attributed to human involvement.
“We have a lot to learn about what causes changes in the climate and we’re not there yet,” he said. “Our goal is to use the 17 national laboratories that we have to continue the research so we understand what’s actually happening.”
Global scientists and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency researchers agree today’s changing climate is primarily caused by humans releasing an excess of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels.
“Scientists say a lot of things,” the secretary said. “I have scientists inside the Department of Energy who say a lot of things. The bottom line is we live here, so we must have some impact. The question is what is the exact impact we’re having?”
Natural gas supporters laud the industry’s role in lowering Pennsylvania’s power sector carbon emissions by double digits as it replaces coal, although drillers are more likely to leak methane into the air.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has identified nearly 12,000 abandoned wells throughout the state, estimating as many as 200,000 orphan wells capable of contaminating groundwater and leaking methane.
The Marcellus Shale Coalition, a trade group, is proud of last year’s record natural gas production, 90% water-recycling rate and “exceptional” inspection compliance rate outlined in the Pennsylvania DEP’s most recent oil and gas report.
Pennsylvania drillers extracted a record-high volume of natural gas last year, while the number of new wells drilled declined from the year prior. Impact fees and royalties to landowners have declined amid low natural gas prices and a saturated market.
The state’s fracking industry supports between 20,000 and 50,000…
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