In the News

For decades, the Gulf Coast has been the focal point of our nation’s petrochemical industry. Because much of the oil and natural gas produced in the United States came from that region, locating downstream plants there seemed to make sense.

But, as three members of Congress from West Virginia point out, having about 95 percent of U.S. ethylene production on the Gulf Coast is risky business. Even one major hurricane could cripple the industry, perhaps for months.

Times change, and it has turned out our region of the country offers an alternative — because Appalachian states, not the Gulf Coast, have become the place to drill for natural gas.