Present at the Creation — And the Re-creation

摘要

Why a journalist at what many would consider retirement age would be excited about a company turning dirt on a new ethane cracker might be beyond the understanding of many. But I am extraordinarily excited about one of these projects finally heading for construction because this is the second time I have been around for the beginning of a petrochemical boom. I go back to the days when the original laws banning natural gas flaring in Texas went into effect under the leadership of the late Texas Railroad Commissioner William Murray. Murray had calculated that between 1.5 billion and 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas, plus an unknown volume of natural gas liquids (NGLs) were going up in flames each day, after being produced along with the almost 1 million barrels per day of oil the state of Texas was producing in the early 1950s.