The new U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, Mark W. Menezes, is traveling to Eastern Ohio on Thursday to tour the proposed Ohio Petrochemical Complex Project (OPCP), which is being developed by PTT Global Chemicals America (PGTTCA).
During his visit, Menezes will also participate in a roundtable discussion with state and local officials, members of the community and industry stakeholders to learn more about the project. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the OPCP project and Royal Dutch Shell’s ethane cracker in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, represent a potential combined capital investment of more than $20 billion in the Appalachia region and would create 12,000 union construction jobs.
“The Trump administration has consistently supported the development of Appalachia’s natural gas resources as a means to regional economic development and national energy security,” the DOE said in a statement posted on its website this week.
“The administration remains committed to the success of this project, which is expected to be one of the largest economic development projects in the region’s history,” the statement added.
Back in June this year, the DOE authored a report which outlined that Appalachia is on the cusp of an energy and petrochemical renaissance.
PGTTCA has been investing in front-end engineering design work to determine the feasibility of the Ohio petrochemical complex since 2015, according to its website. The company has labeled the potential complex as “world-scale”. PGTTCA is the U.S. subsidiary of PTT Global Chemical, which describes itself as Thailand’s largest, and Asia’s leading, integrated petrochemical and refining company.
The United States senate confirmed Menezes to be the Deputy Secretary of Energy in a bipartisan vote of 79-16 on August 4. Prior to the confirmation, Menezes served as the Under Secretary of Energy for energy secretary Dan Brouillette and the former energy secretary Rick Perry.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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