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By Danielle Smith
February 19, 2025
A recent report revealed the Shell petrochemical plant in Beaver County has failed to deliver the promised economic benefits since its announcement more than a decade ago.
New findings from the Ohio River Valley Institute showed the plastics plant has not brought and economic boom, and promised jobs have not materialized.
Eric de Place, research fellow for the Ohio River Valley Institute, said Beaver County’s economy has performed worse than Pennsylvania as a whole, as well as the nation and even its own past benchmarks.
“Its economic performance is actually declining over time,” de Place reported. “Since Shell announced that plant, what’s happened is they’ve lost population, they’ve lost GDP, they’ve lost jobs, they’ve lost businesses.”
De Place pointed out local residents were promised an economic renaissance with thousands of jobs and increased tax revenue when Shell built its petrochemical plant, leading Pennsylvania to give the company $1.6 billion in subsidies. He stressed it is important for community members to demand accountability and question why Shell continues to receive taxpayer support.
Shell contends its complex has created nearly 500 jobs. De Place countered Beaver County saw a short-term boost during the Shell plant’s construction, with thousands of workers on-site. But since operations began, the promised economic gains have not happened.
“Clearly in the data, Shell is employing a few hundred people at the plant now. Those are real jobs, but what we’re looking at is the net effect,” de Place explained. “Sure, you add a few hundred jobs in one place but what happens to the rest of the economy during that time? And what happens is, it’s actually declining.”
De Place noted the plant produces tiny plastic pellets called nurdles, which are the building blocks for many plastic products, including disposable items such as grocery bags. Essentially, it transforms fracked gas into the raw material for plastics.