INSTITUTE, W.Va. — A California-based company has announced plans to move a methanol plant to the Kanawha Valley.
US Methanol will begin construction on the production facility later this year, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Tuesday.
The project will create 300 construction jobs beginning this November and 60 permanent jobs after production begins next July.
“This is great news for the Kanawha Valley and our state’s chemical industry. To move West Virginia’s economy forward, we must have a continually dedicated focus on creating good-paying jobs and welcome new opportunities – like this one – with open arms,” Tomblin said in a prepared statement. “I applaud US Methanol for its commitment to bringing these promising jobs to West Virginians, and I look forward to seeing the positive outcomes of their wise investment in the Mountain State.”
US Methanol is calling the plant Liberty ONE. Its website says the plant will be “comprised of the acquisition and relocation of an existing 175,000 metric tons per annum (“tpa”) or 58.1 million gallons per year (“gpy”) methanol production facility to natural gas rich West Virginia.
On relocating the facility some minor upgrades, repairs and modifications will take place that will result in increased efficiency and an expected useful life of 30 years.”
The company’s website also says there are plans for a second plant, Liberty TWO, which would be a 150,000 tpa methanol plant and also be located in West Virginia. The governor did not mention the second plant in his statement.