A 50-to-1 Advantage

From Natural Gas Signals a "Manufacturing Renaissance" by Jim Motavalli in the April 11, 2012 New York Times - -

According the Kevin Swift, chief economist at the American Chemistry Council, European producers mostly use oil-derived raw materials for making these same products.  "The U.S. has a competitive advantage when oil is seven times as expensive as natural gas, but now we have more like a 50-to-1 advantage," he said.  "The shale gas is really driving this.  A million B.T.U. 's of natural gas that might cost $11 in Europe and $14 in South Korea is $2.25 in the U.S.  Partly because of that, chemical producers have plans to expand ethylene capacity in the U.S. by more than 25 percent between now and 2017.