DILLES BOTTOM — Despite the fact that PTT Global Chemical repaid JobsOhio $20 million after the company failed to make an investment decision in 2020 on its proposed ethane cracker in Belmont County, company and county officials say work to make the project a reality continues each day.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the U.S. subsidiary of Thailand-based petrochemical giant PTTGC had made the payment to Ohio’s private economic development office. The $20 million initially was paid to Bechtel Corp. in 2019 to complete site engineering and site preparation for a plant that would convert ethane — a component of the natural gas stream in the local Utica and Marcellus shale fields — into polyethylenes, which serve as raw materials for products ranging from plastic bottles to vehicle parts.

First announced in 2015, the project has been said to have the potential to bring $10 billion worth of investment to the region.

The company has struggled, though, to arrive at a final decision after losing investment partners and being stymied by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as by current economic conditions.

Dan WiIliamson, Columbus-based spokesman for PTTGCA, pointed out that the company has invested $300 million in the project thus far and maintained that company officials are committed to building the plant. He said there is no deadline for a decision on building it.

“PTTGC America believes this is a viable project … ,” Williamson told The Times Leader on Wednesday. “Coming out of the pandemic, we are currently in a chaotic economy thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Those economic headwinds have made identifying a partner more difficult.”

He stressed that from PTTGCA’s point of view, the economic conditions are temporary, not permanent, and eventually will allow for movement on the project.

“We’re not giving ourselves a deadline to find a partner by X date,” he added. “This is a temporary situation, as was the pandemic.

“The pandemic is the reason this project isn’t under construction today.”

Belmont County Port Authority Executive Director Larry Merry said the repayment to JobsOhio was “old news” that actually occurred “a year or so ago.” He said despite the money being owed, the proposed plant site at Dilles Bottom holds tremendous potential for development.

“In a lot of people’s opinion, it’s the best river site in Ohio,” Merry said. “It’s got rail running through the middle of it. It’s got three sets of barge docks (river cells). … It’s got four-lane highway. … It’s a tremendous site. We would probably have other companies looking at it if it wasn’t the cracker site.”

Merry stressed that PTTGCA continues to work internally and through his office to move the project forward.

“I know the company is working every day to make this happen,” he said. “I also know if it wasn’t for COVID, we would be in the second or third year of construction.”

In an interview with The Associated Press this week, Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted expressed skepticism about whether the plant would be built.

“They can’t find a partner because of market conditions,” Husted said. “They’re the ones who made the promise on what they’re going to do, and it’s up to them.”

Husted said the site, which is owned by PTTCGA, would be attractive to other developers.

“There’s a lot of options for other end users,” Husted said. “The last thing I’m going to do is create a false hope. People in Appalachia have been promised a lot of things that businesses never delivered.”

JobsOhio spokesperson Matt Englehart blamed the coronavirus pandemic for the delay in an investment decision that resulted in PTTGCA paying back the $20 million. A U.S. subsidiary of South Korea’s Daelim Industrial Co. withdrew as PTTGCA’s partner in July 2020.

JobsOhio, which is funded with profits from Ohio liquor sales, has provided an additional $50 million in grants and loans for developing the site where a FirstEnergy Corp. coal-burning power plant once stood.

“PTTGCA remains committed to the project, and JobsOhio and its partners continue to work closely with PTTGCA to bring the project to a positive final investment decision,” Englehart said in a statement, adding that PTTGCA is “actively pursuing investors.”

Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann agreed that the pandemic hindered travel and made it more difficult for company leaders to “go around finding a partner.” He acknowledged, however, that the long delay in making a decision has caused some people to express doubt about the project’s future.

“It has been a very long time,” Echemann said. “It’s frustrating to me that we haven’t had a positive announcement. … I do want to see some kind of decision this calendar year.”

PTTGCA is “in the process” of resubmitting its expired air permit to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Williamson said. The permit will reflect PTT Global Chemical’s commitment to reducing global emissions 20% by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050, he added.

The Ohio EPA recently renewed the company’s wastewater discharge permit.

A similar $6 billion petrochemical plant built by Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh is scheduled to begin operations this year. Shell announced its final investment decision in 2016. News that PTTGC would partner with a Japanese company to build a petrochemical plant in Belmont County first surfaced in 2015, spurring talk of a regional petrochemical hub to take advantage of abundant supplies of ethane.

Working in the company’s favor is that prices for polyethylene and other raw plastics have rebounded since a steep drop in 2020. Analysts say global demand for plastic products will continue to rise this decade.