Trump plans to tour ethane cracker plant site in Monaca
President Donald Trump is expected to land in Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon to tour the massive construction site of an ethane cracker plant in Beaver County.
Trump will tour the plant before giving public comments about the facility, according to senior administration officials.
Officials said in a precursory conference call Monday that Trump would be focusing his comments on the economic benefits of Marcellus shale gas drilling in the region. Natural gas production led to the plant’s development and may lead to similar projects, advocates say.
The plant employs about 5,000 construction workers and is expected to permanently employ about 600 once it opens in the early 2020s.
It’s a 386-acre site in Monaca borough in Beaver County along the Ohio River.
Administration officials indicated the president would direct his focus to the economics of the plant, not its environmental impact.
The plant will heat ethane gas to high temperatures to “crack” it and form ethylene, a basic component of various plastic products used in many common plastic items.
Such a facility generally is referred to as an ethane cracker plant.
Shell Polymers will run the plant.
Shell Oil Company announced the plant in 2012.
