www.nocrackerplantov.com

From an Article by Scott McCloskey, Staff Writer, Wheeling Intelligencer, January 19, 2020

MOUNDSVILLE — For some of the nearly 50 people who turned out to view a documentary film screening, the film not only provided a new perspective about how widespread the plastic waste problem is worldwide — but it also validated their concerns about the proposed PTT Global Chemical America plant for Belmont County.

The Ohio Valley citizens group, Concerned Ohio River Residents, made the educational documentary prerelease screening of “The Story of Plastic” available Saturday afternoon at the Grave Creek Mound Historical Site theater in Moundsville. The group invited dozens of invited local “decision makers” and politicians in an effort to showcase the global plastic pollution crisis that the world now faces, according to Bev Reed, an organizer of the group.

She said while the 90-minute film still has still not been released to the public by its creator, Deia Schlosberg, she is hopeful the film will be made available to the public as soon as possible. Reed said the film is “very eye opening,” and that the group members feel very fortunate to have access to an early viewing.

“The Story of Plastic” focuses on exposing the truth behind the plastic pollution crisis, according to its creators. In the film, footage shot over three continents illustrates the ongoing catastrophe: fields full of garbage, heaps of trash; rivers and seas clogged with waste; and skies choked with the runoff from plastic production and recycling processes.

The film shows interviews with experts and activists, and scenes which reveal the impact of the flood of plastic on ecosystems and communities around the world, and the global movement rising up in response.

Reed said the film was meant to highlight the risks such industry would pose to the region, if the proposed Dilles Bottom ethane cracker plant would come to fruition.

“It shows shots from around the world of communities that are drowning in plastic … and shows why we need to be alarmed,” Reed said. “This cracker plant would create about 3 billion pounds of plastic feed stock pellets per year — much of what would be used for single use plastics. It’s impacting our human health. It’s impacting animal health.

“By 2050 plastic will outweigh fish in the world’s oceans so it’s very worrisome,” she added.

Reed said another issue is the proposed cracker plant would be built by companies from overseas and the profits would not stay here. “The whole reason (companies) want to build this is to use our gas, that we have here in the shale, and to create this plastic — all for their profit,” she said.

A panel discussion was held in the theater following the film. Dr. Randi Pokladnik, a local retired environmental scientist/research chemist spoke about the impacts that plastic — especially single-use plastics — and petrochemicals have on health, and the cracker plant’s potential impact on the Ohio River. Upon her introduction to the crowd, Pokladnik quickly noted how disappointing it was not to have one local politician in attendance.

“Why don’t the local politicians show up and watch this? What are they afraid of — that they might learn something that is disturbing,” Pokladnik said. “If you go into the grocery store today, it’s hard to shop without finding everything you pick up is encased in plastic. When I was little, I remember a lot of things came in glass and there wasn’t any plastic. You used butcher paper for meats and things like that. I think we have to, … as a population, rethink the way we look at our lifestyles because so much of this is unnecessary. … If you look at it, at the end of the day there’s a choice we have to make — do we have this ‘throwaway’ lifestyle that we think we can manage sustainably or do we live on a liveable planet.”

Also as part of the panel discussion, which the group live-streamed via Facebook, Beaver County, Pennsylvania resident Terri Baumgardner discussed what it’s like living near the Shell cracker plant and a panelist from Texas who lives near petrochemical facility participated via video conferencing.

Shadyside Resident Susan Brown, who is a Concerned Ohio River Residents member, said she learned a lot from watching the film. She said she’s trying to learn more about the health issues that cracker plant could possibly create if it would indeed be built in Belmont County.

“It was educational in a lot of aspects — in realizing how global the issues are … and what we should be doing,” said Brown, who is also a former resident of Dilles Bottom. “For me it’s the justice of it. … I’m just trying to be involved and make other people aware of it,” she added.

She said the companies using all of these throwaway plastics need to be held accountable for their actions. Brown said she feels gas companies should not be able to just come into an area and do what they want and produce what they want to produce.

Organic farmer Mick Luber, who said he lives “in the middle of all that fracking out there” in Cadiz, said he thought the film was very good. “It was in-depth, and from every perspective from around the world,” he said. Luber said it show just how much companies need to be held more responsible for all of the plastic packaging going on around the world.

While no final investment decision has been made in the proposed PTT Global Chemical America plant to be located in the Dilles Bottom area of Belmont County, the plant, if constructed, would use byproducts from fracked natural gas to make polyethylene, a component of plastic. Ethane is one of the natural gas liquids found in abundance in the local natural “wet” gas stream, particularly in the Utica and Marcellus shales. The Bechtel Corporation confirmed last June that it had been selected to oversee construction of the multi-billion dollar facility if a final decision were made to construct it.

Bechtel currently is overseeing construction of Royal Dutch Shell’s cracker plant in Monaca, Pennsylvania. The proposed PTT Global Chemical America plant at Dilles Bottom, just south of Shadyside along the Ohio River, would be of similar size and scale to the Shell plant. PTT, based in Thailand, has been studying and assessing the local market since at least late 2015, when it announced it would tap into the region’s large concentration of wet gas from Marcellus and Utica shale drilling and build an ethane cracker plant at the former FirstEnergy R.E. Burger power plant site.

See also: www.nocrackerplantov.com

Ethane Cracker chemical plants generate thousands of tons of toxic chemicals

THIS SATURDAY in Bellaire, OH and Moundsville, WV

>> Rally Saturday, January, 18th, 11 am — 12 pm (noon)

>> Meet in lot across from Bellaire Kroger at 26th Street intersection

Meet at about 10:45. We will assemble on the sidewalks at the intersection. Bring your No PTTG signs! This will be a peaceful protest to raise awareness about the PTTG cracker plant.

We took to the streets last week in Moundsville and got great media coverage. Let’s keep the momentum going!

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Just one word should be enough in this era: “plastics”

After the rally, join Concerned Ohio River Residents for a special pre-release screening of “The Story of Plastic,” a seething expose uncovering the ugly truth behind the current global plastic pollution crisis. Interviews with experts and activists and never-before-filmed scenes reveal the disastrous consequences of the flood of plastic smothering ecosystems and poisoning communities around the world – and the global movement rising up in response.

January 18th 1:30 – 4:30pm

>> Grave Creek Mound Historical Site Theater
>> 801 Jefferson Ave, Moundsville, WV 26041

Don’t miss the panel discussion after the film! On the panel:

1) Dr. Randi Pokladnik, a local retired research chemist will talk about the impacts of plastic and petrochemicals on health and the cracker plant’s impact on the Ohio River.

2) Terrie Baumgardner, a resident from the Beaver County, PA area will discuss what it is like living near the Shell cracker plant currently being constructed.

3) Yvette Arellano, policy research and grassroots advocate for Texas Environmental Justice and Advocacy Services, Houston, Texas. They live near petrochemical facilities in Houston, Texas.

>>> Read more about the film here.

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See also: High School Curriculum: Fracking, Cracker Plants, Plastics, and You, OVEC, December 5, 2019

Join in the protest of fossil fuels to climate change !!!

From Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC), www.OHVEC.org

Details — The WV Manufacturers Association is hosting the Marcellus Manufacturing Conference at the Marriott at Waterfront Place/Morgantown Event Center. The conference will promote the Appalachian Storage and Trading Hub/petrochemical complex, which would mean a huge increase of fracking in our region, six large pipelines running along the Ohio River, thousands of miles of smaller pipelines, underground storage caverns for natural gas liquids, huge, polluting cracker plants and fractionators, and other infrastructure—all for an end product of plastic.

We want to show up for two reasons. First, to stand in opposition to the petrochemical hub and the threat to human health it would bring to our region. Second, the WV Manufacturers Association is responsible for pressuring the WV Legislature to pass state water quality standards without making important updates to protect human health.

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Press Conference 12:00pm-12:30pm – Behind the WVU Visitors Resource Center

Join us as we start the action with a press conference at 12:00pm at the Singing Tree of Diversity mosaic, behind the WVU Visitors Resource Center (beside the Marriott) along Caperton Trail. We will have speakers from WV, OH, and PA who are fighting the petrochemical threat.

Protest Action 12:30pm-3:00pm – In front of Marriot at Waterfront Place along Don Knotts Blvd.

After the press conference, we will move to the sidewalk out front of the Marriott/Event Center along Don Knotts Blvd. for a visible protest with signs, etc.

Co-Hosts Include: Center for Coalfield Justice, Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club, Breathe Project, Mountain Watershed Association, Climate Reality Project, and more!

Some ideas for signs: Honk if you *heart* Water/Air, People Over Petro, People Over Profit, People Over Plastic, Keep Your Greed Out Of Our Water/Air, Every body deserves clean water, No Cancer Valley, No Petrochem Poison, No Toxic Jobs

** Since the purpose of this monster petrochemical complex is to make more new plastics in a world already drowning in plastic pollution, make your own monster from plastic trash to bring too! Find ideas here.

Schedule · Tuesday, April 9, 2019 — 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Press Conference – Behind WVU Visitors Resource Center (Tree of Diversity Mosaic), Noon to 12:30 PM

Protest – In front of Marriott at Waterfront Place along Don Knotts Blvd. 12:30 – 3:00 PM

Action Network Page: https://tinyurl.com/april9action

See also: https://www.facebook.com/events/morgantown-marriott-at-waterfront-place-hotel/actionpress-conference/690196644733959/

Various chemical facilities cause pollution

Chemical Plant Boom Spurred by Fracking Will Bring Smog, Plastic Glut and Risks to Workers’ Health

From an Article by Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog News, 2/14/2017

On the heels of the shale gas rush that’s swept the U.S. for the past decade, another wave of fossil fuel-based projects is coming — a plastic and petrochemical manufacturing rush that environmentalists warn could make smog worse in communities already breathing air pollution from fracking, sicken workers, and expand the plastic trash gyres in the world’s oceans.

“Thanks to abundant supplies of natural gas, the U.S. chemical industry is investing in new facilities and expanded production capacity, which tends to attract downstream industries that rely on petrochemical products,” the American Chemistry Council’s President and CEO, Cal Dooley, said in a January press release. “As of this month, 281 chemical industry projects valued at $170 billion have been announced, about half of which are completed or under construction.”

A new Food and Water Watch report, How Fracking Supports the Plastic Industry, calls attention to the dark side of those plans, warning of air and water pollution and the risk to people’s health, especially for those taking jobs in the plastics industry.

The Pollution and Health Risks of Petrochemical Plants

“The petrochemical boom does more than generate plastic that is overfilling our landfills and spilling into the oceans; the manufacturing process itself releases numerous pollutants into our air, water and land,” the report finds. “On top of that, many of the proposed new ethane cracker projects are co-located with fracking and drilling operations, potentially compounding the pollution problems that residents already endure.”

Converting ethane, a by-product of shale gas drilling, to plastic requires ethane “crackers” – massive plants that use heat or steam to “crack” the ethane gas into ethylene, which is then converted to polyethylene, generally sold in plastic pellets.

Shell plans to start construction of one of the nation’s largest ethane crackers this year in Pennsylvania, home to the Marcellus shale drilling rush. “It is the first new facility of its type to be constructed outside of the Gulf Coast in two decades,” the report points out.

“Although the cracker plant will bring pollution to the region, the industry, its supporters and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf all tout that it will bring jobs,” the report adds. “What they fail to mention is that these jobs are potentially dangerous and hazardous to health.”

Petrochemical plant workers suffer from higher rates of brain cancer than workers in other industry, the report says, noting that workers are exposed to known carcinogens and neurotoxins like benzene, toluene, and xylene and may have an elevated risk of liver disease and other ailments.

Emissions from petrochemical plants have also been linked to elevated levels of toxins in the blood of people living nearby. Allen LeBlanc, a resident of Mossville, Louisiana, with high levels of dioxin in his blood — which researchers traced to nearby petrochemical plants and refineries — described his disabling health problems to the Intercept in 2015.

“Living here has messed me up,” he said. “If I could have another life, I’d take it.”

In Louisiana, the Food and Water Watch report notes, 13 petrochemical plants released 4.9 million pounds of toxic materials into the environment in 2015, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) records. But that’s nothing compared to Texas, where the state’s 28 petrochemical plants reported over 13.8 million pounds of toxic releases the same year to the EPA.

The air pollution from the plants can make breathing more difficult for people living nearby, the report adds, and increase their chances of developing cancer. “Several studies have demonstrated that people’s exposure to petrochemical facility pollutants is associated with heightened cancer risks, acute irritative symptoms (such as nausea and eye and throat irritation) and respiratory-related illnesses, especially for children,” the report says.

From Fracking Boom to Cracking Boom

The shale gas targeted by drillers is mostly made of methane gas — the fuel purchased by power plants and used for home heating and cooking, which is also a powerful greenhouse gas. However, what comes out of a gas well isn’t pure methane, but a blend that also includes chemicals like butane, propane, and ethane — and ethane is a key building block for plastics.

Since the shale rush began, U.S. ethane production numbers have soared, with the Energy Information Administration now projecting production of over 1.7 million barrels of ethane a day in 2018, up from less than a million barrels a day just five years earlier. North Dakota’s Bakken shale formation is so ethane-rich that leaks and venting from drilling and fracking there was responsible for a spike in ethane levels in the Earth’s atmosphere, researchers concluded last year.

Twenty new or expanded ethane cracker projects have been proposed since the shale rush started, the new Food and Water Watch report says.

“The proposed cracker projects could conceivably boost polyethylene production by as much as 50 percent, taking it to more than 42 billion pounds a year,” On Earth reported in 2014 — when just 10 new plants had been proposed. “That’s fully six pounds of this one particular form of plastic for every man, woman, and child on earth.”

The Glut of Cheap Plastic to Come

Cheap new plastic discourages recycling — which means more trash winds up in landfills or contaminating the seas. For years, scientists have warned that the world’s oceans are becoming a plastic soup, with ocean gyres where plastic and other debris build up (also known as “garbage patches“) covering a quarter of the earth’s surface. By 2050, the world’s oceans are predicted to contain more plastic than fish (by weight), an Ellen MacArthur Foundation report concluded last year.

“The fracking-driven industry expansion will likely generate even more ocean plastics as more ethane crackers come online and produce more plastic resins,” the Food and Water Watch report concludes.

Making all that plastic also creates enormous amounts of smog, the report points out. “In 1999, when Houston’s ozone levels were the highest in the nation, the state of Texas conducted several studies that found large industrial leaks,” the report notes. “The worst originated from cracker plants producing ethylene and propylene.”

“In addition to asthma, long-term exposure to smog has been connected to premature deaths in adults and to low birth weight in babies,” it adds.

That’s a particular problem in states that already suffer from smog problems. Shell’s ethane cracker will be built about 30 miles outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It’s projected to emit 522 tons of volatile organic compounds [VOCs] — precursors to smog — which would mean that it would be western Pennsylvania’s largest source of VOCs.

Nonetheless, Shell’s ethane cracker was granted multiple tax breaks — including the largest tax break in state history, worth $1.65 billion over 25 years — by state officials who argue that the economic benefits to the region make it all worthwhile. Shell predicts that the plant will employ 600 workers — a powerful message in a swing state where a thirst for job creation is often cited as a key reason that Donald Trump won Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral college votes in November.

For its part, Food and Water Watch argues that fracking has already harmed the state’s drinking water, air quality, and increased the speed of climate change. “The last thing that Pennsylvanians need is another way for the oil and gas industry to capitalize on shale at the expense of their health and well-being,” the report concludes.

SHARON KELLY –Sharon Kelly is an attorney and freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She has reported for The New York Times, The Nation, National Wildlife, Earth Island Journal and a variety of other publications. Prior to beginning freelance writing, she worked as a law clerk for the ACLU of Delaware.

Fossil Fuels => Plastics => Worldwide Impacts

From an Article by Elizabeth Glazner, Plastics Pollution Coalition, March 30, 2016

Jeff Bridges knows that plastic is a substance the Earth cannot digest. Worldwide reliance on disposable plastic packaging and utensils is poisoning our bodies, killing wildlife and overwhelming our planet. Single-use plastic deepens our dependence on fossil fuels, contributing to climate change and further harming our most at-risk communities.

The global problem of unnecessary plastics was demonstrated perfectly when a Whole Foods grocer in California was called out for selling pre-peeled oranges in plastic deli containers—and at $6 a pound. “Orangegate” quickly spread on social media when PPC re-posted a photo of the oranges, which reached more than 1 million people on Facebook. To their credit, Whole Foods responded within two days by pulling the oranges from their shelves and issuing an apology on Twitter.

Still, consumers can find today everything from plastic-wrapped single bananas to individually wrapped jelly beans on store shelves. We hope Bridges’ message in our Open Your Eyes video, which was first released in September 2015 and has been updated for re-release this week, will prompt consumers and retailers to open their eyes and demand reductions in plastic waste.

Bridges, in the following interview, shared his own growing awareness of the plastic pollution problem:

Plastic Pollution Coalition: What motivates your long-standing support of Plastic Pollution Coalition, including lending your voice to our new video?

Jeff Bridges: My father Lloyd Bridges worked on a TV show called Sea Hunt. He impressed upon me as a child the importance of taking care of the ocean and working together to do our part to reduce human pollution. Also, that we are all interconnected and responsible for the oceans around the world.

Plastic Pollution Coalition: What about your own awareness regarding plastic—specifically, when did it begin and why?

Jeff Bridges: It began with Plastic Pollution Coalition turning me onto what a stupid idea plastic drinking water bottles are.

Plastic Pollution Coalition: What changes have you made to reduce your plastic footprint?

Jeff Bridges: Personally, I do my best to drink my water out of metal containers. I use Plastic Pollution Coalition “Rethink” bottles often. My family and I don’t purchase plastic water bottles at the store. We have a water filtration system to fill up our bottles.

Plastic Pollution Coalition: On tour with Chris Pelonis and out with the Abiders? On set?

Jeff Bridges: When I’m working, on sets or stages, my contracts specify in the rider that no plastic bottles be used. When I’m playing with my band, we all use metal and non-plastic containers for drinking to be ecologically sensitive and show others that this is the way to go.

Plastic Pollution Coalition: What are three easy first steps you abide by and recommend for someone wanting to start out on the path toward a life with less single-use plastic?

Jeff Bridges: 1. Get off plastic water bottles. 2. Get into metal or glass bottles. 3. Get a cloth shopping bag.

Plastic Pollution Coalition: Any thoughts or observations that you’d like to share about the issue of plastic pollution, alternatives and solutions?

Jeff Bridges: The way to change the world is through individual responsibility and taking local action in your own community. If everyone around the world did this, it would be the first step in solving the problem.

See also:

These 6 States Want to Ban Plastic Bag Bans (Yes, You Read That Right)

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) products

Polyethylene market (may or may not be) ready for increased capacity

From an Article by Frank Esposito, Plastics News, 12/28/2015

For the North American polyethylene resin market, 2016 might prove to be the calm before the storm.

Three new capacity projects are set to come on line that could add as much as 4 billion pounds of production capacity to the market next year. Similar projects expected in 2017 could boost capacity by another 6 billion pounds.

Overall, 27 PE expansions have been announced for North America. If they all come to fruition, they’ll add more than 34 billion pounds of capacity — a 75 percent jump over current capacity of roughly 45 billion pounds.

This scenario has led to some concern. The domestic PE market is growing, but not at a rate high enough to handle that much material. That means a good chunk of that new PE will have to be exported outside North America.

For his part, Dow Chemical Co. executive Diego Donoso believes the PE market will be able to handle the new capacity, which is being made possible through low-priced feedstocks based on shale gas.

“You have to look at the impact of the world, because it’s all connected,” said Donoso, global packaging and specialty plastics business president with Midland, Mich.-based Dow. “And before you look at 2016, you need to look at 2013 and 2014 when we had a high oil price scenario. The market added [13 billion pounds] of new capacity globally and was able to absorb it. We had 20 cents in [PE price] increases without a single price drop, and the market stabilized because supply was tight.

“Then in 2015,” he added, “lower oil prices took the floor away and there were price corrections and an overcorrection of inventory. It was a very different world than in 2013 and 2014, but we didn’t give away all of our margin to the market.”

Chris Bezaire of PE maker Nova Chemicals Corp. also believes that those expecting chaos from the new PE capacity will be disappointed. “There’s no question there will be a [PE] surplus, but it will be fleeting,” said Bezaire, PE vice president with Calgary, Alberta-based Nova. “We’ll work with that. We’re not afraid.”

“Between now and 2020-21, new supply add will find its way into the marketplace,” he added. “Not all of it will be in North America. A new supply/demand equilibrium will come into line and there might be a short-time 10 percent surge in exports. It’s natural ebb and flow.”

But Donoso and Bezaire might need to spend some more time convincing veteran industry consultant Robert Bauman that all will be well with the market once the new PE arrives. “It’s going to be a bloodbath,” said Bauman, president of Polymer Consulting International in Spring, Texas. “We’re going to see inventory build with prices dropping. It will be one of the worst performance periods for the industry in a long time.” Bauman added that PE export markets “don’t have a panacea in Latin America — the economy in Brazil is a disaster and Argentina isn’t good.”

Market analyst Mike Burns was taking a calmer approach to the PE situation at Resin Technology Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. “To keep a good balance [in North America], we have to compete with the global price,” Burns said. “As long as the North American price is within 10 cents of the Asia price, that will keep Asian resin from getting into the U.S. and will allow the U.S. to export to Latin America. “We have to keep that balance of exports flowing and stopping imports from coming in. If our price gets too high outside that window, North American processors would call China,” Burns added. “The key to the whole thing is the price of oil and the cost to make pellets in other regions.”

Now 2016 “is looking to be a transition year to the long awaited PE buyer’s market that should be fully in place during 2017 and 2018,” said Phil Karig, managing director of the Mathelin Bay Associates LLC consulting firm in St. Louis. 2016 PE demand growth “should be tepid at best,” he added, and PE exports from the U.S. to Mexico “will have to find another home as the massive Braskem PE joint venture comes on line.”

Profit margins for North American PE makers should still be “quite good” in 2016, according to market analyst David Barry at PetroChem Wire LLC in Houston. Producers “aren’t worried about margin in the near term,” he added. “But that will change when the new capacity comes on.” Barry described the export market as “a wild card,” but he added that North American exports recently had some strong months at times when exports traditionally hadn’t been that strong.

Through October, U.S./Canadian sales of high density PE were up 6.6 percent, according to the American Chemistry Council in Washington. Domestic sales were up only 1 percent for the period, but export sales rocketed up almost 42 percent. Sales of HDPE into household chemical bottles provided a domestic bright spot, growing 7 percent.

Regional sales of low density PE through October improved 3.3 percent, with domestic growth of almost 4 percent lessened somewhat by growth of only 1.2 percent in export markets. Sales of LDPE into non-food packaging film soared more than 11 percent in that 10-month period.

For linear low density PE, 10-month sales grew 6.3 percent. Domestic sales growth of almost 6 percent was amplified by a 9 percent rise in export sales. Sales of LLDPE into all types of film  —  packaging and non-packaging  —  climbed almost 8 percent in that period.

Donoso recently met with several large food packaging companies who were moving more products into ready-to-eat snack packaging. “Even more food companies are going from rigid packaging to flexible,” he said. “Packaging is strong,” added Bezaire at Nova. “More people are more eating out of the home. Families are smaller and they eat out more than we did as kids.”

Nova will do its part for new PE capacity with a 1 billion pound-capacity LLDPE line in Joffre, Alberta. Mechanical completion of the line is set for July 1, Bezaire said, with material expected to be available in the market in September and October. The new line’s output “is an extension of what we currently produce,” he said. “We’re building what our customers want.” Nova also is considering building a new PE plant either in Ontario or on the U.S. Gulf Coast, Bezaire added.

North American PE demand also will be helped by new capacity making better-quality resins in volumes that previously were unavailable, he said. This will allow North American processors to make products that couldn’t be made with earlier resins. “The PE being made in Joffre is the cleanest PE in North America when it comes to gels and clarity,” he said. “The future is bright — it’s maybe never been brighter in North America.”

Dow’s Donoso agreed that the quality of PE being made in North America has greatly improved. “All of our reactors are providing our highest-performing products,” he said. “To go from rigid to flexible packaging, you need better resins.”

He added that he’s doubtful that all of the PE capacity projects announced for North America will come online as scheduled, pointing out that previous waves of capacity expansion often had delays. Bauman agreed, saying welders, pipefitters and other specialty workers needed to build these new lines and plants are becoming scarce on the Gulf Coast.

Through October, PE makers in the U.S. and Canada were exporting about 21 percent of total LDPE and LLDPE production and about 18 percent of their HDPE output. RTI’s Burns and other market watchers say those numbers need to be closer to 30-35 percent to handle the new capacity.

“If you’re a [PE] seller, you’re going to see increased competition, more capacity chasing demand and price and margin pressure,” IHS Chemical analyst Nick Vafiadis said in October at the Global Plastics Summit 2015. “If you’re a buyer, you’re going to see more supply options, increased competition and increased quality demands.”

“The [North American PE] market is going to be very competitive in two to three years,” added Barry at PetroChem Wire. “Producers will need to cater to processors to get material sold. If they don’t, someone else will.”

Mathelin Bay’s Karig doesn’t see the new capacity affecting regional PE prices much in 2016. “Even with reduced exports, capacity utilization in 2016 will remain high enough to keep PE prices from cratering, unless oil prices turn sharply downward again,” he said.

At Dow, Donoso remains confident. “The world will balance itself,” he said. “The market is very resilient.”

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See also the articles on low prices for oil and natural gas, excess ethane and plans for ethane crackers at: www.FrackCheckWV.net