Subject: WVNS story: When Out-Of-State Companies Drill For Gas, What Does WV Get?
Public News Service-WV
May 03, 2010
When Out-Of-State Companies Drill For Gas, What Does WV Get?
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Workers and residents are asking how much West Virginia is getting out of the drilling boom in the huge Marcellus Shale natural gas field. Three union locals - operating engineers, pipeline welders and laborers - are picketing a Marshall County processing station.
Donnie Huff with Local 132 of the
International Union of Operating Engineerssays says it's part of an enormous pipeline system being built by a Texas company, Caiman Energy, along the Ohio valley. It's supposed to employ thousands, but so far, Huff says, the jobs are going to workers from Texas and Oklahoma.
"Like the timber industry, they raped West Virginia, exported everything. Same thing happened with the coal industry - 90 percent of it is going out of state. It's time West Virginia gets something for our natural resources."
An official with a natural gas trade group says many of the Marcellus jobs are going to West Virginians, and that Caiman has used West Virginia contractors in the past. But in some cases, he says, the jobs require special skills that the local workforce lacks.
Huff disagrees, saying highly skilled local workers could fill all the jobs.
"Pipeline welders, UA tradespeople, pipeline operators, station operators, building trade operators - yeah, we could man all their work."
The gas drilling boom also strains resources in rural counties, and it's unclear how much it adds to the tax base. Ray Renaud, with the
Wetzel County Action Group, is also a volunteer firefighter. He says they've had good results talking to Chesapeake Energy about some transportation issues, but the boom definitely adds to the need for emergency services.
"Now, our call volumes have increased rather dramatically. With all this road volume, our accident rates are very high and there are also accidents on well sites that we have to respond to."
Caiman Energy did not return a call requesting comment.
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