Chris Ventura, Consumer Energy Alliance, Columbus, Ohio
Local workers who struggled to find good-paying jobs and make ends meet for their families are seeing their luck change because of natural gas production.
The availability of low-cost natural gas for use in the manufacturing process or as a feedstock for other local industries has made this region one of the best locations for traditional and advanced manufacturers to expand.
US Methanol, for instance, built a local plant to utilize the state’s abundant natural gas for conversion to methanol, used as a component in the manufacturing of necessities like antifreeze, plastic bottles and LED and LCD screens made in local manufacturing facilities, employing local workers and growing the economy.
Just last year, Bidell Gas Compression brought its first manufacturing plant to the U.S. from Canada, investing millions of dollars in Weirton, with the prospect of over 150 jobs.
What’s more, the Utica and Marcellus shale plays will provide 37 percent of the nation’s natural gas production by 2040, per reports.
Elected officials have taken notice. In Marshall County, the commissioners recently passed a resolution highlighting the economic opportunities of energy production. And, at the Statehouse, West Virginia’s Legislature passed legislation in support of the Appalachian Basin Storage Hub.
The record pace of economic development that’s occurring because of increased production of oil and natural gas, paired with the right set of policies, has helped West Virginia gain traction as a state where businesses, producers and manufacturers want to do business and create jobs — which is exactly what we need.
