The first round in the three-way battle between Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia to entice a petrochemical manufacturer to build an ethane cracker in the Northern section of the U.S. for Marcellus and Utica production has been won by Pennsylvania. Shell Chemical LP signed an agreement for an option to purchase Horsehead Corp.'s zinc plant in Monaca, Pa., for an undisclosed fee. 

Shell will evaluate the site as a potential location for an ethane cracker that would handle volumes from the Marcellus and Utica shales. The option, if exercised, would ...