Published on August 30, 2018
Major weather events in recent years have demonstrated a growing need for diversifying America’s petrochemical industry.
A year ago this week, Hurricane Harvey hit Texas — and within six days, 27 trillion gallons of rain had fallen on the region. Winds reaching up to 135 mph tore through the nation’s fourth-largest city, devastating Houston and the Gulf Coast.
Major weather events in recent years have demonstrated a growing need for diversifying America’s petrochemical industry.
A year ago this week, Hurricane Harvey hit Texas — and within six days, 27 trillion gallons of rain had fallen on the region. Winds reaching up to 135 mph tore through the nation’s fourth-largest city, devastating Houston and the Gulf Coast. Lack of geographical diversity in our petrochemical industry is a valid concern that is not to be dismissed lightly, as the effects of storms such as Harvey demonstrated.
Shell’s $6 billion cracker plant in Beaver, Pennsylvania, is the first step in this movement to expand the industry, and additional projects are under way. The natural resources are providing the ability to complement our assets in the Gulf Coast with another energy hub in the East. In doing so, we can ensure a stronger national economy by securing the industry that drives it forward.
