Company potentially putting cracker plant in Belmont County announces green initiative

BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio — The company hoping to find a partner for the proposed Belmont County Cracker Plant has made a new pledge.

Local officials say it may ease concerns of area residents.

While there’s still no announcement about the potential cracker plant being built in Belmont County, the company -- PTTCG -- announced last week a Greenhouse Reduction Initiative.

According to a press release from the company, PTTGC has announced its commitment to cut greenhouse emissions by 20 percent by 2030 in a move to help the government fight climate change.

The company also plans to achieve a net-zero goal -- or carbon neutrality -- by 2050.

"GC is the parent company based in Thailand of PTTGC America. And frankly, here in the United States, people don’t know a lot about GC. In Thailand, they have a reputation as a company that is very environmentally aware, environmentally active. They talk proactively about climate change, about plastic waste,” PTTGC-America Spokesman Dan Williamson said.

So, what does that have to do with the Ohio Valley?

“This is the site of where we all hope that PTTGC-America is going to build a petrochemical plant,” Williamson said, standing at the Dilles Bottom location. “And, so this process will be part of GC’s operations, and that will be part of that net-zero pledge.”

Williamson also has a message for residents who’ve been waiting for an official announcement for quite some time:

“Our message is how much we thank them for their patience, and I know they’re running out of patience and their support,” he said. “The overwhelming response that we’ve gotten here has been positive. It’s been the local officials and the local residents saying,' what can we do? How can we make this a reality?' And that means so much to the company. Because the fact is, a project of this magnitude does not exist; it cannot happen without public support.”