During a construction period of perhaps 3 years, a primary petro- 

 chemical complex would have an average labor force estimated at 1,600 to 

 1,900 to build a facility producing 1 billion pounds of ethylene per 

 year [9, 26]. Very few locations have a construction force of that size 

 available. Another study estimates the basic construction employment would 

 be 50 percent unskilled, 40 percent skilled, and 10 percent management and 

 administrative [26]. 



Petrochemical operation is highly automated. The same hypothetical 

 plant employing 1,900 during construction would employ 420 people during 

 operation, of whom 50 would be administrative and 295 skilled [26]. 



A. 14. GAS PROCESSING: Gas processing plants are tied into the productive 

 life of a field (or fields, if more than a single field is connected by 

 pipeline to the facility). These facilities do not require a coastal site. 



During a 2-year construction period, a gas processing plant with 

 capacity of 300 million cubic feet per day requires about 300 workers; a 

 plant with capacity of 1 billion cubic feet per day would employ a maximum 

 of 550 [2, 28]. Much of the construction work requires specialized labor 

 skills. 



Operation of the plants, which are highly mechanized, requires few 

 employees. The smaller plant (300 million cubic feet per day) would 

 require 21 people, while the larger one (1 billion cubic feet per day) 

 would employ 35 [21, 28]. 



A. 15. LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS PROCESSING (LNG): LNG plants, like refineries, 

 are tied to a world system of supply. They are located at or near the coast. 

 All the plants existing or anticipated in the United States are regasifica- 

 tion plants converting the gas from a liquid state into a gaseous state). 



Construction of an LNG plant, with a capacity of a billion cubic feet 

 per day would employ approximately 600 individuals and require about three 

 years [6]. The skills needed for construction are similar to those needed 

 to build a refinery. 



To operate an LNG plant with capacity of a billion cubic feet per day 

 requires about 100 employees [6]. 



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