Officials in Butler County say that the Shell petrochemical plant to be built in Beaver County will create jobs and help boost the economy in Butler County.

Already, businesses are looking to Cranberry Township for commercial and residential plans connected to the new plant.

It is planned for a former zinc smelting operation site on the Ohio River about 15 miles from Cranberry by vehicle.

The plant will create up to 6,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs once it begins production early next decade, Shell Chemical Appalachia announced Tuesday.

Construction will begin in the next 18 months, with the goal of bringing the plant online early in the 2020s.

Ron Henshaw, Cranberry director of planning and development services, said the township would be an attractive place for people coming to the region to live or shop.

“I believe that with the number of construction jobs and permanent positions with the cracker plant, its going to have positive impact on the area,” he said.

Henshaw said he has heard from business people who were looking into commercial and residential plans in the township, in anticipation of the plant.

“We’ve seen and heard of interest already. Developers are eyeing up the Cranberry market for that purpose” he said.

Now that Shell has made its plans official, Cranberry should start to see the economic impact soon, he said.

Butler County Commissioner Chair Leslie Osche described the plant, estimated to cost $2 billion to $6 billion, and the jobs it will bring as exciting for the whole region.

She listed areas in the county and the region that will be impacted, including the hotel industry, airports and roads that will need to be ready for extra traffic.

There’s potential for more construction growth in and around Adams Township.

“This is going to generate a lot of jobs, particularly for the trades,” Osche said. “It’s going to boost the economy of the entire region. But it also has implications for counties in the region to prepare for the impact on things like transportation and job training.”

Osche said community leaders already have been talking about where to invest public funds in anticipation of the plant. Roads that will be impacted, for example, could include Routes 422 and 228.

“We anticipate there are people in Armstrong County who lost their jobs in the coal industry who now will be traveling through Butler to get to jobs at this plant,” Osche said.

Also, she said, an issue is making sure colleges and training facilities are prepared to give potential employees the skills they need to get these jobs.

These are challenges, she said, but “these are a good problems to have.”

Ken Raybuck, executive director of the Butler County Community Development Corporation, said that the project shows that the natural gas industry in the region is still strong. It is the first major ethane cracker plant to be built outside of the Gulf Coast in 20 years, he said.

“It just shows that this area still does have a strong Marcellus and other shale-related gas activity. They’re going to take advantage of the natural resources here in Butler County,” he said.

State Rep. Tedd Nesbit, R-8th, said in a statement that the plant will be a boost for the regional economy.

“State and local officials throughout Western Pennsylvania have been working tirelessly for the past several years to make this site an attractive location for this global company,” he said.

State Rep. Jim Marshal, R-14th, in a video on his website said that the announcement is great news.

“We want to use our natural gas from Pennsylvania in Pennsylvania. It’s great to use it as a product, it’s certainly great to use it as energy as well.

“The natural gas being converted into plastics right in Beaver County, it’s great; and family-sustaining jobs for a long time to come,” he said.

Eagle staff writers Joe Genco and Kim Paskorz contributed to this report.