It's hurricane season — a good time to build your petrochemical plant outside the Gulf
by Wally Kandel
October 19, 2018 12:00 AM As we watched Hurricane Michael threaten lives, properties, and commerce on the U.S. Gulf Coast, we were given a stark reminder that America’s growing petrochemical industry possesses an Achilles’ heel in the form of major storms.
Domestic petrochemical production has indeed become a giant on the world stage, attracting global investment fueled by plentiful and affordable shale gas. With huge increases in ethane and propane production, our petrochemical industry is fostering a renaissance in manufacturing that can leverage low-priced, American supplies of feedstocks like ethylene and propylene.
With that said, if their products can’t reach manufacturers and the markets they serve, the most promising potential benefits of a bolstered petrochemical industry will be wasted. We’re at risk for this very scenario as long as the industry continues to cluster in the path of danger.
The Gulf Coast hosts about 90 percent of our nation’s capacity for producing the plastics that manufacturers use as building blocks for everyday consumer and industrial goods. We’ve already repeatedly seen how a major hurricane can disrupt that capacity.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/its-hurricane-season-a-good-time-to-build-your-petrochemical-plant-outside-the-gulf
