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Still though, Obama is making a huge mistake in turning down the Keystone project.
And I didn't think about Charleston's transportation capabilities, so yeas Charleston would be a better choice.
The reason Obama turned down Keystone is it runs over a big aquifer that keeps the midwest fertile and green, and not a desert. If a disaster happened it would really screw over a big region of the US that depends on the aquifer for farming. The chances are remote, but they were remote for BP in the gulf too.
I am not a big fan of Obama but he made the right choice. This isnt Obama saying, "I hate gas lets." The route is the most direct one, and would give the most profit to oil companies, but it is not worth the risk to the midwest. The government wanted to work with Canada to draw up a new route, so they postponed the decision the decision but the republicans wanted an answer immediately so it got canceled as it should have.
Draw up a new pipeline that does not go along one of the most important, if not the most important, aquifer in the country. You might pay a few cents more a gallon, and you might have to live knowing the oil companies are going to make 1.2 trillion in net profit instead of 1.23 trillion.
The reason Obama turned down Keystone is it runs over a big aquifer that keeps the midwest fertile and green, and not a desert. If a disaster happened it would really screw over a big region of the US that depends on the aquifer for farming. The chances are remote, but they were remote for BP in the gulf too.
I am not a big fan of Obama but he made the right choice. This isnt Obama saying, "I hate gas lets." The route is the most direct one, and would give the most profit to oil companies, but it is not worth the risk to the midwest. The government wanted to work with Canada to draw up a new route, so they postponed the decision the decision but the republicans wanted an answer immediately so it got canceled as it should have.
Draw up a new pipeline that does not go along one of the most important, if not the most important, aquifer in the country. You might pay a few cents more a gallon, and you might have to live knowing the oil companies are going to make 1.2 trillion in net profit instead of 1.23 trillion.
The thing is though is that there is a hundred pipelines that run through that aquifer. There hasn't been a disaster yet, and I doubt there will be one. The hold up is in Nebraska, and if you look at it, that state looks like a spider web of industrial size pipelines. It isn't like they are doing something that has never been done before, and its been studied and proven safe for years,
I'm sure any barge traffic that this plant might result in isn't too much for the Kanawha River. The river already supports chemical, stone, and coal barges, so I doubt that Charleston couldn't handle the load. And the rail and highways system is more efficient here.
Another thing you have to look at is that we already have the trained work force. Our chemical background puts us at an advantage over anywhere else in terms of qualifications. The plant, which would be located in a major chemical facility, would just be an added task for what is a serious industry down here. Plus we are even building a tech training center on the site of our Tech Park, it would be a win win for anybody who decides to build a Craker here.
They also have plenty of trained chemical folks in the Ohio Valley, and those remaining in Kanawha are already working. I don't get how railroads are more efficient one place than another. New Martinsville is a short hop from I70 via Ohio 7 which is expressway all the way and close to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and closer to Columbus.
But the major advantage is it is right smack in the middle of the wet gas fields. Charleston is 175 miles from them. And, Belmont County can provide all of those assets along with a much more business friendly state government, and again... the Ohio River. You must not have noticed the difference in barge sizes from Ohio R. barges and those that ply the Kanawha. That extra 3 feet of draught allows for barges of twice the capacity, making for far more efficient river transport.
Add that to the fact that the Ohio River chemical area is in a sparcely populated area as opposed to the Kanawha chemical area, which is right in the middle of the megalopolis you talk about, and one sees that a prospective employer for such a facility would have a much lower exposure to potential fallout from any industrial accident.
Last edited by CTMountaineer; 01-27-2012 at 10:11 PM..
They also have plenty of trained chemical folks in the Ohio Valley, and those remaining in Kanawha are already working. I don't get how railroads are more efficient one place than another. New Martinsville is a short hop from I70 via Ohio 7 which is expressway all the way and close to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and closer to Columbus.
But the major advantage is it is right smack in the middle of the wet gas fields. Charleston is 175 miles from them. And, Belmont County can provide all of those assets along with a much more business friendly state government, and again... the Ohio River. You must not have noticed the difference in barge sizes from Ohio R. barges and those that ply the Kanawha. That extra 3 feet of draught allows for barges of twice the capacity, making for far more efficient river transport.
Add that to the fact that the Ohio River chemical area is in a sparcely populated area as opposed to the Kanawha chemical area, which is right in the middle of the megalopolis you talk about, and one sees that a prospective employer for such a facility would have a much lower exposure to potential fallout from any industrial accident.
175 miles from wet gas, really? Check your facts, they are drilling for wet gas down here too, and in large numbers. We already have the facilities to load chemicals, or liquids, or in this case natural gas onto train cars, and there is already the barge facilities to do that.
I doubt that the Ohio Valley has a more experienced workforce at dealing with chemical production, then does the Kanawha Valley. The Kanawha Valley was at on time considered a national leader in this industry, so who better to host a craker plant then here. The training center that in being built will allow the knowledge from the older generation to be passed down to a new workforce to carry on the industry here.
I doubt that area population is going to hurt Charleston's chances of getting the facility. If anything it might help because of the convienience that comes with having the infrastructure and industrial background.
I don't think the population is going to hurt Charleston either. And both areas have trained chemical workers but that won't really matter. It will take years just to build such a facility. Wherever they build it, they'll have a workforce in place when it opens. But, you are wrong if you think there is a lot of wet gas in Kanawha. That stuff is more to the north and west. It is much more abundant in Marshall County or Belmont County, OH than in Kanawha. Read the article I posted.
Fortunately for consumers, but unfortunately for dry gas areas, the price of methane (dry) natural gas is very low and producers are shifting production to wet gas areas. They are putting rigs all over the place in Marshall and Belmont counties.
I don't think the population is going to hurt Charleston either. And both areas have trained chemical workers but that won't really matter. It will take years just to build such a facility. Wherever they build it, they'll have a workforce in place when it opens. But, you are wrong if you think there is a lot of wet gas in Kanawha. That stuff is more to the north and west. It is much more abundant in Marshall County or Belmont County, OH than in Kanawha. Read the article I posted.
Fortunately for consumers, but unfortunately for dry gas areas, the price of methane (dry) natural gas is very low and producers are shifting production to wet gas areas. They are putting rigs all over the place in Marshall and Belmont counties.
The majority of the gas is up north, but even the chart showed how far south it goes, as it runs just east of the Kanawha Valley. We are drilling like crazy down here. On my way to work pass by a drilling site, that keeps expanding each day. still though I see your point. It would be closer, but with the pipeline boom we've had recently, distance is really no problem.
The majority of the gas is up north, but even the chart showed how far south it goes, as it runs just east of the Kanawha Valley. We are drilling like crazy down here. On my way to work pass by a drilling site, that keeps expanding each day. still though I see your point. It would be closer, but with the pipeline boom we've had recently, distance is really no problem.
Not only is there more gas in the north, but is easier and cheaper to get. The gas will benefit the whole state but the best shale is in the North.
There is more gas in the shale so when they frack it you need less material to get the gas out and you get more gas. The deposits in the north are also easier to get to. It has to do with their location in their earth.
It is like how some oil is cheaper to get to than other oil because it is not so deep in the earth and the material around it is easier to drill for.
This was explained to me by an engineer involved in the industry. For a more detailed explanation you will need to ask a geologist.
The shale in PA is even easier than Northern WV's. That is why the industry started there and started going south. As shale was extracted and bought up they sought other deposits of it. That is why the Northern Panhandle has the most potential in the state. Has you go south there is less gas, and it is harder to get.
Just last month, on some guys property in Belmont County, Ohio (across the Ohio River from Wheeling) they were drilling on some guy's property and struck oil at a depth of only 80 feet. He went to bed complaining about the noise and woke up a multi millionaire just from the royalties coming his way in the future.
There is some wet gas in the more sourhern portions of the state, but only a fraction of what is further north. But, the biggest enemy of any part of WV in terms of getting a cracker is not gas per se, it is the outmoded and big money and union money dominated thinking on the part of state government.
They do not have adequate gas lines in place to handle the projected volume of wet gas involved, and even if they were to suddenly build it, what happens to the wet gas after it is cracked is just as important. The southern region is much more isolated from the industrial parts of major cities. Finished materials have to be transported there.
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