Keep in mind Exxon was there because of the government subsidies. It was an uneconomic process at the time. Without tax-payer dollars, they never would have been there at that time.
When the subsidies ended, so did jobs. Always a bad way, having politicians selecting technologies.
I was in the area in the early ‘90s working Cozette/Corcoran sand horizontal wells south of Rifle. The area was fairly well hurting then, relative to the rest of the State. The shale boom had busted...raw deal for the folks who worked there. (Isn’t it always). Wait until the Ethanol boom goes flat (or gas hits six bucks when the subsidies come off).