Shell is unlikely to recoup its $14 billion investment in Pennsylvania petrochemicals development as global market headwinds continue to intensify, according to a new report from the Ohio River Valley Institute. The company is reportedly looking to sell or secure a business partner for its Shell Polymers Monaca facility in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, in the midst of a supply glut “crisis” that has pinched polyethylene (PE) producers worldwide.
In 2012, Shell received the largest tax incentive package in Pennsylvania history to site its petrochemicals complex in Beaver County. Since then, the company has failed to deliver on promises of jobs and downstream growth, according to our previous research.
Now, new analysis of public records shows Shell has sold off over $30 million in tax credits intended to support local petrochemicals growth-largely to out-of-state insurance firms and other companies unrelated to petrochemicals manufacturing-to pad its margins. However, the Pennsylvania Resource Manufacturing Tax Credit’s “lookback provision,” set to trigger in 2028, could give legislators an opportunity to stem the flow of public funds to Shell Polymers Monaca.