For example, the oil companies have not been able to break ground on a new refinery in the US in decades { Source? - P}. They might like to have a refinery that floats. That way they can refine the crude closer to the source and just ship the finished product around. We suspect that Union Carbide feels similarly about manufacturing pesticides. Processes that do not require large energy or freshwater inputs are ideal, and for them, it may be cheaper to build a seastead than go through the permitting process on land. Its also a lot faster. This is true even for a clean, non-polluting plant.