Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks during the 2018 Ohio Associated Press Legislative and Political Preview Session in Columbus. File Photo

DILLES BOTTOM — Another piece of the puzzle of building a $6 billion ethane cracker in Belmont County may fall into place, as Ohio Gov. John Kasich is expected to announce a “major international partner” for the project.

According to Kasich’s office, the governor will join JobsOhio President and Chief Investment Officer John Minor to make the announcement at 2 p.m. Monday at the Statehouse in downtown Columbus.

This is the same location in which Kasich joined PTT Global Chemical officials in September 2015 to confirm plans to spend at least $100 million for engineering and design plans.

“Patience, patience, patience, patience,” Kasich urged when asked about the status of the petrochemical project during the Ohio Associated Press Legislative/Political Preview Session earlier this year.

“I’ve been on the phone with these folks. What I tell them is, decide. Not being in the U.S. is crazy,” Kasich at the time said of both PTT and JobsOhio. The JobsOhio firm is a private development corporation which Kasich signed into law in 2011 for the purpose of replacing the state-run Department of Development.

The identity of the international partner will be revealed Monday. For its part, PTT Global Chemical is a Thailand-based entity. Royal Dutch Shell, which is building a similar project north of Pittsburgh, is headquarted in the Netherlands.

Braskem, which in 2013 announced preliminary plans to build an ethane cracker in West Virginia, is based in Brazil.

Last year, while in Beijing, West Virginia Secretary of Commerce Woody Thrasher signed a memorandum of understanding with China Energy for the firm to spend $83.7 billion for petrochemical-related projects in the Mountain State.

Below is a timeline of notable events for the potential Belmont County ethane cracker:

∫ April 2015 — State and local officials announce the proposed plant on about 500 acres of property along the Ohio River in Belmont County, with about one-third of the site consisting of the closed FirstEnergy Corp. R.E. Burger plant;

∫ September 2015 — Kasich and PTT officials announce plans to spend $100 million for engineering and design work;

∫ July 2016 — FirstEnergy Corp. officials blow up the 854-foot-tall smoke stack at the former R.E. Burger plant;

∫ December 2016 — The former Burger plant site is cleared and environmental remediation takes place;

∫ January 2017 — PTT receives permission from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to discharge wastewater into the Ohio River;

∫ June — PTT pays more than $13 million to acquire the former Burger site;

∫ August — Some Dilles Bottom property owners become frustrated with their ongoing negotiations with PTT officials;

∫ October — PTT officials sign agreement with JobsOhio to “enhance the well-being and quality of life” for those who live in the Dilles Bottom area; and

∫ January — South Korea’s Daelim Industrial Co. agrees to join PTT in developing the project.