There was a big event a few days ago down in Charleston.  Governor Tomblin and Senator Manchin hosted a bunch of Japanese businessmen, apparently in an attempt to interest Japanese money in investing in West Virginia natural gas.  While it certainly hasn’t been said outright, it seems that Odebrecht’s failure to move forward on the cracker plant has disappointed people.  It’s disappointed us for a while, and we’re excited to see public evidence that people in charge are working to bring in new investment partners.

We really need to make sure that West Virginia takes full advantage of the opportunity that has been presented to it.  We’re shipping natural gas out of the state in its raw form.  We need to be using it here and shipping electricity and plastics out instead.  We can piggy back on natural gas to improve our internet infrastructure, and our tourism.  The big plants and the technology that comes with them will not be content with poor internet, and the people that work in the plants are going to want nice places to live, work, and play.  Investing in the use of natural gas within the state is a great first step.

While this article about Governor Manchin’s trip to Japan which is coming up in a month focused mainly on the automobile parts industry, it’s still heartening to see that the Governor’s office had a talking point that included investment in natural gas.