Peter Zeihan: Ohio’s Plastics Industry’s Juicy Secret

By Peter Zeihan: Since I’m here in Ohio, why not talk about what makes this region so unique. Today, we’ll be discussing how shale in Ohio has propelled economic growth in an unfamiliar way.

For most of America, the shale sector looks fairly similar – traditional oil production produces natural gas as a byproduct, which is flared off until infrastructure is put in place to harness it. However, the Marcellus and Utica fields in Ohio primarily produce natural gas that is used for fuel across the central and eastern US. This is a bigger deal than it seems. If the tri-state area of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania were a country, it would produce more natural gas than any countries save Russia and the United States itself.

But what truly sets the region apart isn’t simply the abundance of natural gas, but of natural gas liquids such as ethane, propane and butane. The local prevalence of these materials has enabled Ohio to become a world leader in high-end plastics manufacturing. Thanks to this, Ohio has seen boosts in industrial activity and the establishment of chemical facilities throughout the state.