WV Gov Justice Creates Downstream Jobs Task Force to Leverage Shale
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice wants to ensure his state is in the poll position to grab as many new businesses and jobs as possible from the embryonic but rapidly developing petrochemical industry in the Marcellus/Utica region. Justice announced yesterday he has signed an Executive Order to form the Governor’s Downstream Jobs Task Force, a group of WV officials who will work on developing sites for use by petchem manufacturers and work to attract potential investors.
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Last Wednesday MDN brought you the news that CNX Resources had laid off some 50 employees, with rumors circulating that more layoffs were coming (see 
Last November Encino Acquisition Partners (i.e. Encino Energy) completed its purchase of all of Chesapeake Energy’s Ohio Utica Shale assets for $2 billion (see 
In late June, MDN brought you the sad news that Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), which operates the East Coast’s largest refinery on the banks of the Delaware River, has decided to close, throwing 1,020 people out of work following a recent fire (see 
Appalachia Development Group is leading an effort to build a ~$10 billion (or $2.5B, or $3.4B, depending on your source) NGL storage hub in Appalachia–most likely in West Virginia (see 
There is a truly dreadful, jobs-killing piece of legislation in New York State that may get passed in the next few weeks. It’s called the Climate Community Protection Act (CCPA). The bill, if it becomes law, would mandate the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to eliminate all so-called greenhouse gas emissions from any major source in the state by 2050. The following manufacturing industries in the state would likely close and/or move out of the state: glass (say goodbye to Corning), steel, cement, auto, metal casting, food, pulp and paper, aluminum, plastics, ceramics and chemicals. Yeah, pretty much all of Upstate would close.
President Trump is pushing members of his administration to work with state regulators in Appalachia–Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania–to “build the country’s first natural gas and petrochemical hub” outside of the Gulf Coast. According to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, such a plan is in the the country’s national security interests. Members of the Trump team are also having discussions with leftists like NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to try and convince him to allow pipelines into and through the state. If states like NY won’t allow it, Perry holds out the hope/threat that the feds will invoke the Constitution’s interstate commerce clause to make them.
If you’re heading to college (or know someone who is), or maybe in college right now, or considering a career change and you have the time and money to get another college degree…we have a suggestion. Take a look at petroleum engineering as your major. Those with a petroleum engineering degree earn the highest average salaries in the country! A survey looked at college degrees and salaries for those in the workforce between the ages of 29-31 and found the highest average salary ($169,680 per year) belongs to petroleum engineer grads!
“Quit playing that @#$% video game!” How often have young people heard that refrain from a parent? Hey parents, you may want to lighten up a bit on the video game thang. The eye-hand coordination and quick thinking skills built by long hours of playing video games are helping youngsters who grow up and enter the work force get jobs operating seriously big pieces of construction equipment used in the Marcellus/Utica, like cranes and earthmovers.