Three Companies Consider W.Va. For Cracker Plant

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Secretary of Commerce Keith Burdette says three companies are looking at West Virginia as a potential site for a cracker plant.

Burdette says state officials are in talks with the companies. He's signed non-disclosure agreements with all three.

Media outlets report that Burdette discussed the negotiations Monday during an address to the Rotary Club of Charleston. After the meeting, he said a fourth company also is interested in building a cracker plant in West Virginia.

The plant would convert, or crack, a byproduct of Marcellus shale natural gas drilling into a widely used chemical compound.

Earlier this year, West Virginia lost a bid to attract a cracker plant that Shell plans to build. Shell chose Monaca, Pa., as the site for its plant. Burdette says that competition was a "warmup."