In 2012, Pennsylvania lawmakers—including then-Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican—crafted a proposal for Shell Oil Co. In exchange for tax incentives estimated to be worth as much as $66 million per year over 25 years—a total state investment of over $1.6 billion—plus a credit that would exempt the company from most, if not all, of its state and local taxes, Shell would build a polymer manufacturing plant in Beaver County, near Pittsburgh, instead of in Ohio or West Virginia. The plant, known as an "ethane cracker," would refine ethane, a natural gas, to produce single-use plastics.
While that's a huge investment from the state—and, by extension, from taxpayers—proponents said the project would more than pay for itself, generating millions of dollars in economic benefit that would create thousands of jobs. Two economic impact studies—each funded by Shell—backed up their claims.
