When a very large, rich gas find is made, a petrochemical (ethylene) 

 plant may be attracted to the area. Such a plant uses ethane produced 

 by the gas processing plant as feedstock. However, a gas find in a 

 frontier region would have to be extremely large in order for a petro- 

 chemical plant to become an economically feasible proposition. 

 Approximately 10,000 gallons per day of liquid hydrocarbons with a high 

 percentage of ethane would be required to support a billion-pound-per- 

 year ethylene plant. This large volume must also be sustained for ten to 

 fifteen years to justify the location of an ethylene plant. The establish- 

 ment of a large ethylene plant may induce additional downstream petro- 

 chemical activities to locate in the region [26]. 



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