Shell plc CEO Wael Sawan gave company shareholders an encouraging update on the company’s new polyethylene business in an Aug. 1 meeting with analysts.
In 2022, Shell opened a major petrochemicals site, including polyethylene resin production, in Monaca, Pa., near Pittsburgh. It was the first major U.S. resin operation built outside of Texas or Louisiana in more than 40 years.
In the Aug. 1 earnings call, Sawan said that all three PE trains are now operational at the plant. The remarks are similar to comments that were recently reported by PN’s Frank Esposito from an interview with Laura Chamorro, polymers general manager for Shell Chemical.
In the earnings call, Sawan provided more detail, saying the plant has now achieved “stable production,” and was continuing to refine what he called its “high grade product slate” and certify the production of others.
Sawan added that Shell is working on its cost structure and working to bring down overhead.
Chamorro had told Esposito that North American PE producers based on natural gas feedstocks continue to realize a feedstock advantage relative to liquid-fed crackers in other regions.
She added that Shell’s portfolio includes linear low and high density PE, and that the company’s focus continued to be on the North American market.
