But economic-development officials envision some gas staying in the region and fueling a revival of energy-intensive manufacturing, the type of industry that thrived here when coal was king.
"I would say that it is not too early to consider petrochemical manufacturers' locating to Pennsylvania, which now produces more gas than it consumes," said Considine.
Last month, Shell Oil Co. announced that it was exploring building a "world-class" facility to make ethylene from Marcellus Shale gas. Ethylene is one of the major building blocks in the petrochemical industry, an ingredient in a variety of chemicals and plastics, including the polyethylene used in milk jugs and soda bottles.
Ethylene is produced at refinery-size plants that convert, or "crack," ethane derived from natural gas. An ethane cracker costs a billion dollars or more to build - it's not a casual investment.
"The huge capital cost of an ethane cracker would be an affirmation that there is going to be ethane for decades to come," said Kathryn Z. Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry trade group.
Other interested parties
Shell is not the only company that has announced an interest in ethylene. Carlos Fadigas, the chief executive officer of Braskem S.A., a Brazilian chemical company with U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia, told reporters in April that Braskem was considering expanding into ethylene. Sasol Ltd., the South African synthetic-fuels pioneer, has also been mentioned as scouting eastern U.S. locations.
PetroLogistics L.P., a Houston company that had explored building an ethane cracker in Appalachia, is no longer interested, said Hank Jeans, senior vice president of commercial development.
