Current:Home > InvestDevelopers Put a Plastics Plant in Ohio on Indefinite Hold, Citing the Covid-19 Pandemic -LegacyBuild Academy
Developers Put a Plastics Plant in Ohio on Indefinite Hold, Citing the Covid-19 Pandemic
View
Date:2025-04-25 20:06:04
The developers of a proposed plastics manufacturing plant in Ohio on Friday indefinitely delayed a final decision on whether to proceed, citing economic uncertainties around the coronavirus pandemic.
Their announcement was a blow to the Trump administration and local economic development officials, who envision a petrochemical hub along the Ohio River in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Environmental activists have opposed what they say would be heavily polluting installations and say bringing the petrochemical industry to this part of Appalachia is the wrong move for a region befouled for years by coal and steel.
Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical America and South Korea’s Daelim Industrial have been planning major investments in the $5.7 billion plant, 60 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, for several years.
On the site of a former coal-fired power plant, the facility would have turned abundant ethane from fracking in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions into ethylene and polyethylene, which are basic building blocks for all sorts of plastic products.
The partnership had promised a final investment decision by summer, but announced the delay in a statement on its website.
“Due to circumstances beyond our control related to the pandemic, we are unable to promise a firm timeline for a final investment decision,” the companies said. “We pledge that we will do everything within our control to make an announcement as soon as we possibly can with the goal of bringing jobs and prosperity to the Ohio Valley.”
In March, financial analysts with IHS Markit, a global information and data company, and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a nonprofit think tank, agreed the project was in trouble even before the coronavirus began to shrink the global economy. A global backlash against plastics, low prices and an oversupply of polyethylene, were all signs of troubling economic headwinds before Covid-19 sent world oil prices tumbling, disrupting the petrochemicals industry.
JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development corporation, has invested nearly $70 million in the project, including for site cleanup and preparation, saying thousands of jobs were in the offing. A JobsOhio spokesman declined to comment Friday.
“It’s good news,” said project opponent Bev Reed, a community organizer with Concerned Ohio River Residents and the Buckeye Environmental Network. The delay, she said, “gives us more time to educate and organize and it gives us an opening to create the economy we want.”
veryGood! (88)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Evangelical Texas pastor Tony Evans steps down from church due to unnamed 'sin'
- Too Hot to Handle’s Carly Lawrence Files for Divorce From Love Island Star Bennett Sipes
- Takeaways from AP examination of flooding’s effect along Mississippi River
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Florida jury finds Chiquita Brands liable for Colombia deaths, must pay $38.3M to family members
- Fire tears through Poland weapons factory, killing 1 worker
- Hayley Kiyoko Talks Self-Love, Pride, And Her Size-Inclusive Swimwear Collab With Kitty & Vibe
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Why It Girls Get Their Engagement Rings From Frank Darling
Ranking
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- DOJ, Tennessee school reach settlement after racial harassment investigation
- Rescued kite surfer used rocks to spell 'HELP' on Northern California beach
- What the new ‘buy now, pay later’ rule means for small businesses offering the service
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Dozens arrested in new pro-Palestinian protests at University of California, Los Angeles
- Governorship and House seat on the ballot in conservative North Dakota, where GOP primaries are key
- You'll Be Sliving for Paris Hilton's Update on Her and Nicole Richie's New Show
Recommendation
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
US Open tee times announced: See the groupings for Rounds 1 and 2
What we know about the raid that rescued 4 Israeli hostages from Gaza
Slogging without injured MVP (again), Atlanta Braves facing an alternate October path
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Kite surfer rescued from remote California beach rescued after making ‘HELP’ sign with rocks
Michael Rainey Jr. speaks out after being groped on livestream: 'I am still in shock'
16-year-old American girl falls over 300 feet to her death while hiking in Switzerland