“Big Fish” are much preferred over “small potatoes”

From an Article by Mike Nolting, WAJR Radio, January 16, 2022

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – When West Virginians think about pandemic response one of the top names that comes to mind is Jim Hoyer. But, the retired general is also very involved in state level economic development efforts through the Joint Interagency Task Force. Hoyer describes his current work in economic development as “running interference” between business, state leaders and Vantage Ventures.

Vantage Ventures is part of the WVU John Chambers School of Business and Economics with the goal of transforming West Virginia into a start-up state. Since 2019, Vantage Ventures has nurtured the ideas and talent of potential entrepreneurs to implement concepts into economic impact. ”Sarah Biller and the folks at Vantage Ventures that are not just working on 24 high-tech companies right now,” Hoyer said. “We’ve modified their mission a little bit to working at what I call catching the big fish.”

The influx of pandemic relief money has opened more opportunity. Hoyer said his challenge is to work as a team to identify the most impactful use of that one-time relief money. “We’re starting right now to focus on assiting the state economic development team — Mitch Carmichael, Mike Graney, the governor’s office and local economic development folks on the bandwidth of assests,” Hoyer said.

West Virginia has to compete with other states on tax structure, available workforce and geographic location to potential customers or users. But here, there are fewer suitable plots of land for development. State government and the federal relief money can help enhance infrastructure. “We’ve got to not only be a good place to do business, but we have to have ready places to do business,” Hoyer said.

Following the announcement of a $2.7 billion Nucor Steel mill in Mason County and a medical warehouse in the Morgantown area, Hoyer believes the state is on the rise. Hoyer based that observation on many years working with state lawmakers and serving in the West Virginia National Guard. “I would tell you that I have never seen a greater interest in operating in the state of West Virginia than I’ve seen in the last 12 to 18 months,” Hoyer said.

Another job announcement is expected in the spring that involves a company possibly locating in a 300,000-square foot facility at the Morgantown Industrial Park. The Morgantown Utility Board is upgrading water and sewer facilities there with a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

#######++++++++#######++++++++########

I-79 Harmony Grove interchange moves up priority list

From an Article by Mike Nolting, WV MetroNews, April 3, 2022

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The planning and design stages of the proposed I-79 Harmony Grove interchange for the Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP) is moving forward.

Morgantown Metropolitan Planning Organization Bill Austin said the project has been moved up on the project priority list. Most recently, the project has been moved to the Tier 1 priority list which means it will be completed within the next 8 to 10 years. But, Austin said an enormous amount of work is required to expand or add exits to the interstate highway system.

“The interstate is the biggest federal investment in our country that we have and protecting it’s capacity and making sure it is serving the needs of the community is very important,” Austin said on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.”

The interchange will be a vital part of Mountaintop Beverage. Mountaintop Beverage is expected to operate up to 100 semi-trucks daily from the Morgantown Industrial Park. Additionally, reports indicate when the project is officially announced other expansion announcements are expected when project bids are awarded to a contractor.

“There are several potential expansions or additions to the industrial park that would require direct access to the interstate,” Austin said.

The most recent step is the Interchange Justification Report. That report is completed by the developer, Enroute Properties and consultant to show the scope of work to the DOH. “We’re at the point where the DOH and the consultant are reviewing what the study says and preparing a presentation for the Department of Highways,” Austin said.

According to Austin, when the project is complete it will be a very unique set of opportunities to the region. “The thing to remember about the industrial park is it’s actually a truly multimodal facility,” Austin said. “It has rail access, it has barge access and with this it will have interstate access, which is really a confluence that very few areas within the state have.”

Shale-based manufacturing renaissance sought in region

Article by Malia Spencer, Pittsburgh Business Times, January 10, 2013

Royal Dutch Shell’s proposed ethane cracker in Beaver County is an example of how the petrochemical business could be expanded in southwestern Pennsylvania, thanks to natural gas.

Petrochemical executives, academics and lawmakers convened Thursday for a frank discussion on how the growing natural gas boom in the tristate area can really spur a manufacturing renaissance.

The meeting, held downtown at the Renaissance Hotel, was organized by the industry trade association American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers along with Carnegie Mellon University with the goal of kicking off a series of talks that would help the industry create a framework on how to best benefit from the shale boom.

The discussion focused on the attractive economics around using natural gas, instead of petroleum, to create compounds, such as ethylene, that are used in plastics and other industries.

One challenge that this boom brings is making sure the U.S. industry can stay on top of the innovation, said Andrew Gellman, head of the chemical engineering and Lord professor of chemical engineering at CMU. There is a sense of urgency, he said, because there are shale reserves globally. “Shale is everywhere, we need to get there first and stay there,” Gellman said.

Building off that notion Don Wardius, head of Renewable and Alternative Feedstocks Development at Bayer MaterialScience, said Bayer is looking at how to use methane, the dominate component in natural gas, to make liquids that are the basic building-block chemicals. In his company’s case, they want to see a research and development consortium built around how to turn methane into benzene, which is a raw material Bayer uses for the polymers in high-performance plastics.

It’s these sorts of challenges where industry can work with universities and federal labs to find solutions, according to Wardius and Gellman.

For companies looking to invest in capital projects, such as Shell’s potential ethane cracker in Beaver County, the economics have to be in place. Right now there are roughly $95 billion in announced chemical projects between 2013 and 2030, according to a presentation by Gary Adams, chief chemicals advisor at IHS Chemicals. Much of this activity is in the ethylene supply chain, which is where an ethane cracker falls.

Shell has yet to make a final decision on whether it will build a facility in the region. Bruce Macklin, senior vice president of global operations at ExxonMobil Chemicals Co., told the conference audience his company has also announced a new cracker project as part of an expansion to the company’s Baytown, Texas, petrochemical complex.

For ExxonMobil, it made more sense to leverage its existing facilities as it taps into the shale gas boom. The project has been announced, and the company is working through the permitting process but the final decision has not yet been made. In all likelyhood it will come down to the project cost estimates and where in its portfolio the company decides to invest, he said.

>> Malia Spencer covers manufacturing, higher education and technology for the Pittsburgh Business Times.

NOTE: Inside Shale Weekly is a radio program sponsored by the oil and gas industry. It is broadcast over WAJR 1440 AM out of Morgantown, WV.  Today on this program, Nicholas “Corky” DeMarko, executive director of the WV Oil & Natural Gas Association, said that he is involved in confidential activity with others to locate an ethane cracker chemical plant in the Ohio River valley or the Kanawha River valley of West Virginia where adequate land area exists for such a plant.  He expects an announcement sometime in 2013 and the possible start of construction in 2014.