China Energy to invest $83.7 billion in West Virginia

WSAZ-TV ^ | November 9, 2017 | Staff

[2ndDivisionVet]

BEIJING, China (WSAZ) -- China Energy Investment Corporation Limited has signed an agreement with the West Virginia Dept. of Commerce on an $83.7 billion plan to invest in shale gas development and chemical manufacturing projects in West Virginia.

The Memoradum of Understanding was signed Thursday in Beijing, witnessed by President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

West Virginia Secretary of Commerce H. Wood Thrasher and China Energy President Ling Wen signed the MOU.

"This is a great day for the state of West Virginia," Gov. Jim Justice said. "I’ve been saying for the last couple months that the tides are turning in West Virginia and this is proof. Today is another sign as we joined with my good friend President Trump to announce the largest investment in our state’s history."

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) also released a statement Thursday morning, saying, "I am thrilled Secretary Thrasher and China Energy have signed the Memorandum of Understanding today in Beijing. I have always said that West Virginians are the hardest working people in the world. I’m glad China Energy recognizes this and is working with us to create jobs and economic growth in our state."

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said early Thursday morning, "Expanding Appalachia’s energy infrastructure, including developing a regional storage hub and market for natural gas liquids, will have a transformative effect on our economy, our security, and our future. From driving growth and creating jobs to maximizing America’s energy potential, the benefits for West Virginia and the country from this new investment will be significant and long-lasting.

"That’s why I worked diligently to expand West Virginia's energy infrastructure and bring this investment to our state, advocating for it with President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Secretaries Perry and Ross. I’m excited to continue working with the administration, and state, local and private-sector leaders to keep this effort moving forward," Sen. Capito said.

China Energy is the world's largest power company, with more than 200,000 employees.

This investment by China Energy is the culmination of years of relationship building, both by West Virginia University and the state,” WVU President Gordon Gee said. “It is also an excellent example of the possibilities that we have been discussing within the West Virginia Forward initiative with our partners at the state Department of Commerce and Marshall University.

“As I have traveled the state talking about West Virginia Forward, I have frequently said we need a ‘quick win.’ In the economic development world, this is a nearly unprecedented big win. The agreement, and the ramifications from it, will help move West Virginia forward for years to come.”

Marshall President Jerry Gilbert released the following statement on the announcement:

“I congratulate Governor Jim Justice, Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher and Economic Development Director Kris Hopkins on this amazing announcement. This is indeed a game-changer for West Virginia and I could not be more excited about this development and what it means for our state and for Marshall University.

“One of my priorities as president is economic development for West Virginia and ensuring Marshall is a full partner with the Department of Commerce. Our faculty has the expertise and, through our College of Information Technology and Engineering and our College of Science, is equipping our students with the necessary skill sets to be leaders in this global economy, providing top-notch researchers to develop new technologies. We also are helping our state workforce train for the jobs of tomorrow through RCBI, our center of excellence in advanced manufacturing.

“At Marshall University, we have the knowledge, engineers, researchers, tech specialists and professionals to help this endeavor come into reality. We stand ready to partner with the state to provide this workforce. Put simply, Marshall University is ready to get to work!”

[DIRTYSECRET]

Is it or is it not good?

[rrrod]

Plus the floating LNG plant......winning bigly!

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

83 billion dollars of winning

[SomeCallMeTim]

WOW!

I wonder whether any of it will ever come to fruition? It’s easy to get Chinese to sign LOI’s... Harder to get them to sign checks!

[NorthMountain]

Developing energy resources in WEST Virginia is good.

China’s involvement is NOT good.

[floridavoter2]

I wonder if this includes an increase in Chinese immigration?

[PA Engineer]

People need to learn how big shale energy is. With the draining of middle eastern money from the democrat green groups, shale development will expand greatly.

We are going to need expanded energy production with the onset of the solar minimum. Those that block pipeline development will suffer severely.

The Chinese know what is coming. They have learned from history and do not want to repeat another dynasty collapse.

[Paulie]

Article says this is the culmination of years of planning and relationship building between WVA and China.

I wonder how many years. Did they start looking to China Energy because 0bama vowed to destroy the coal industry?

Hope the coal miners don’t get cheated out of the jobs they deserve.

[2ndDivisionVet]

How many jobs could this create?

[sparklite2]

You remind me of the brouhaha over the sale of Rockefeller Center to Mitsubishi. Amidst all the wailing, someone finally stood up and said, “It’s not like they can take it back to Japan.”

[EQAndyBuzz]

I guess Manchin’s vote offsets McCIns.

[shotgun]

Hillary is thinking to herself how much she could have personally made on this deal if she was president...

[Alberta's Child]

This is what happens when the U.S. runs an enormous trade deficit with a foreign country.

The Chinese can't eat U.S. dollars, folks. The money has to come back here eventually.

[vpintheak]

It really ticks me off that commies and ruskies are buying up American energy. Why do our energy companies either not have the balls or fortitude to do this? Why does it take foreign nations to use up our energy?
It is pathetic. I am happy that there will be jobs and work, but there is no free lunch. There will be a lot of unintended consequences.

[PA Engineer]

Depending on the time frame of the investment (swag), initially at least 400,000 jobs. I envision most of these would be planning and construction.

I see a huge demand in petrochemical, pipelines and LNG port facilities. Whether they get involved upstream is unknown.

The new Shell facility north of Pittsburgh has spurred demand for downstream plastic products. Brownfields with negative valuation have increased to over 100,00 per acre.

The sweet spot for drillers in the wet gas market is still the Ohio, PA and WV boarder area.

[2001convSVT]

China is slowly eating America one piece at a time, I just hope that there is enough to save went people realize the mistake made.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Based on this thin article, it is difficult to pin down exactly what is going on here.
* “The University of West Virginia (WVU) entered into a memorandum of understanding with China Energy in 2016, and details of the larger memorandum of understanding with the state were hammered out over the past few months.” A UNIVERSITY?? It seems rather unusual for a University to be negotiating with foreign governments for access to a state’s energy resources. The WVU has long taken huge sums from the federal Dept. of Energy for “energy research” and has delivered little or nothing for that “investment.” This is purely a legacy of Senator Byrd as a payoff to WV coal miners. Look at the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown, WV for starters.

* Then the article goes on “The announcement of the investment between China Energy Investment Corporation and the West Virginia Department of Commerce presents huge economic opportunities for West Virginia and our region,” said Marc Monteleone, president of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia. Now it’s an investment between China Energy and the state Department of Commerce?

*” Some have cautioned that the memorandum of understanding is not a binding agreement, and that the Chinese might not follow through with all the components of the deal.” No kidding!

* “I’m very optimistic that we’re going to get this across the finish line with this announcement. The agreement was signed before the president of the United States and the Chinese president.” Anderson conceded that not all the promises made in the agreement may make it to fruition. The Chinese are not the most trustworthy partners in ventures like this. I’ve done a lot of business with the Chinese and getting paid is always a challenge — they pay extremely late, often pay a fraction of what they owe, and sometimes never pay at all.

* Anderson also believes the agreement will eventually lead to an ethane cracker being built in the Mountain State. So it’s gone from an $83 BILLION investment to a single ethane cracker that might cost $500 million? That’s a huge gap.

CONCLUSION: This article is written like a typical breathless University press release about some new invention by their researchers that’s going to change the world. It is really devoid of any specifics. I do not put much stock in WV energy nor the ability of a university to negotiate such a business deal. Not much to get excited about yet.