Zinc operation shuts on proposed cracker plant site
MONACA – Zinc production has shut down at the Beaver County site where Shell Oil Co. is considering construction of a huge multibillion-dollar petrochemical plant.
Horsehead Holding Corp. had announced last fall that it intended to close the smelter in Potter Township, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
The company said Friday that production halted Wednesday, leaving only 40 of the original 510 workers to help with the final closure, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Shell held public meetings last month on the proposed cracker plant, which would convert ethane from natural gas into chemicals for plastics, antifreeze and other products.
The company is paying for demolition on the Horsehead site. Shell officials said they are in the third and final stage of consideration of the petrochemical project.
Shell general manager Dan Carlson said the company signed long-term contracts with several energy companies to supply the proposed plant.
Carlson said it’s hard to predict when the decision on whether to build the plant will be made, but it could come in the next one or two years.
In some other states – Colorado, for example – Shell invested tens of millions of dollars in proposed projects before deciding to shut them down.
Suzanne Mycyk, who lives in nearby Ambridge, said she hopes Shell builds the plant locally.
“I want this area to succeed and be thriving like it used to,” Suzanne said, referring to the time before the local steel industry went into steep decline.