West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin in his State of the State address last Wednesday that he would intensify efforts to attract an ethane cracker to the state.

“This session I will submit legislation to further refine our incentives in a fashion I believe will strengthen our competitiveness in achieving that goal,” Tomblin said, adding that a single ethane cracker would be a multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment in the state.

“Let me be clear about my intentions,” the governor added. “I will do everything in my power to make sure that West Virginia is positioned to take full advantage of this opportunity. I will not limit our efforts to just one project or even two. We will compete for every project — every dollar of investment and every new job that relies on the natural resources with which we have been so blessed.”

West Virginia is in competition with neighboring Ohio and Pennsylvania for an ethane cracker, which could create thousands of construction jobs over a couple of years, followed by several hundred permanent jobs. During his speech, Tomblin cited American Chemistry Council figures that estimated about 12,000 downstream manufacturing jobs could ultimately be created.

“The governor and the administration have been committed to do everything they can to attract that cracker,” West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association Executive Director Corky DeMarco told NGI. “I think he just reinforced his commitment to not only the oil and gas industry, but also the coal industry. And that’s a positive.”

The governor praised legislators for passing the landmark Natural Gas Horizontal Wells Control Act, which he signed late last year (see NGI, Dec. 19, 2011a).

Tomblin also referred to plans by Baker Hughes Inc. to build a $40 million oilfield service facility that would create 275 new jobs in Bridgeport; plans by MarkWest Liberty to build a $400 natural gas processing complex in Wetzel County (see NGI, Dec. 19, 2011b). Aqua Transfer and Oilfield Solutions plan to add 50 jobs at a new office in Upshur County; and other investments by Weatherford International, Superior Appalachian Pipeline, Dominion Transmission, American Municipal Power and American Electric Power.

Charlie Burd, executive director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia (IOGA), told NGI that he was encouraged by the governor’s speech.

“The governor is spot on,” Burd said. “He is absolutely correct that in this upcoming session we certainly need to do everything we can in this state to maintain the budget surpluses that we’ve been fortunate enough to have and maintain. You do that through good investment strategies with companies looking to locate here, good principles to entice businesses to come and a proper tax structure.”

DeMarco concurred. “[Tomblin] has taken some bold steps to reinforce our financial position,” he said. “We are one of only a few states to have a [budget] surplus. All of those reinforcements are good, not only if you’re going to try to attract a cracker, but also if you’re talking about the stability of the state that you’re going to be doing business with.”

Several companies are eyeing the Marcellus Shale region to locate an ethane cracker. Royal Dutch Shell plc is reportedly considering sites in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania for a world-class cracker that could consume 60,000-80,000 b/d of ethane (see NGI, Dec. 5, 2011; Sept. 12, 2011). Meanwhile, hundreds of West Virginians are petitioning companies to build a cracker in the Kanawha Valley (see NGI, Dec. 19, 2011c), while state officials have lobbied hard for the Mountain State (see NGI, Aug. 29, 2011; July 18, 2011; May 9, 2011).

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