BP’s investment in the Valley deserves cheers, not jeers

London-based energy behemoth BP, the second largest oil and gas producer in the nation, is targeting Trumbull County as the $331 million bull’s-eye in its mission to begin massive drilling for oil and natural gas in the Utica/Point Pleasant shale.

The direct winners of BP’s ambitious and potentially lucrative adventure will be the roughly 1,900 Trumbull County land owners who are signing leases this week in North Lima to permit drilling on about 80,000 acres. But the winnings also will extend to the economy of the Mahoning Valley with prospects of exponential growth in the industry that some say could rival the meteoric rise of steel-making in this Valley one century ago.

Ohio roots

BP — whose name comes from the initials of one of its former companies British Petroleum — and its legacy companies have been responsible, productive corporate residents of Ohio since 1870. Older Ohioans will fondly recall its all-American red, white and blue logos emblazoned on its thousands of Sohio (Standard Oil of Ohio) gas stations that dotted every nook and cranny of the landscape of the Valley and the state.

Today, it is the leading marketer of fuel in Ohio to independent operators using the BP brand. Its proud past and its dynamic present raise realistic hopes that BP’s venture into the Valley will succeed for years and decades into the future.

For now though, the economic impact of the company’s initial investment — about $331 million through the leases — cannot be undervalued or under appreciated. Consider just a few of the things that money could buy:

It could almost duplicate the $388 million annual payroll of the General Motors Co.’s 4,500-member work force in Lordstown.

It could build eight Covelli Centres at the $42 million construction cost of downtown Youngstown’s centerpiece entertainment and sports arena.

It could provide enough revenue to support government operations in the city of Youngstown for more than two years at the spending level of $151 million in the 2012 municipal budget.

And keep in mind, that $331 million is only the initial investment. BP plans to set up operations centers and build an employee base locally. And the spinoff benefits from the multi-million economic infusion will trickle down to virtually every level of the local economy.

As Tim Harrington, regional president for BP’s North America Gas business, said last month in announcing the Trumbull lease plans, “BP is committed to hiring and purchasing locally whenever possible, and we anticipate having a positive impact on the region while providing a new source of energy for America.”

BP AS BAD PARTNER

Yet despite this bonanza of capital and confidence in the Valley, some consider BP a bad partner. Critics continue to view the fourth-largest company in the world with a jaundiced eye. In general, they point to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill two years ago next week, the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. In particular, they point to the much debated environmental dangers of hydraulic fracturing, the high-tech drilling process to force open fissures in subterranean rock by introducing liquid chemicals at high pressure to extract oil and natural gas.

As for the Deepwater disaster in which 11 people died, BP has invested more than $1 billion toward restoration of the gulf and revitalization of the gulf economy. By most accounts, its efforts are succeeding on both environmental and economic fronts.

It has also increased its premium on safety in all of its operations. In 2011, for example, it created its Global Wells Organization, which has as its primary mission reducing the possibility of a spill or accident through prevention efforts both on shore in the gulf and off shore in Ohio.

Local assurances

In addition to that safety valve, the Associated Land Owners of the Ohio Valley, the umbrella group for the Trumbull County lessees, has worked to ensure safety and accountability from BP, specifically concerning fracking. Additionally, Trumbull County officials have won assurances from BP that the company will maintain and repair roads during and after drilling.

To be sure, ALOV and community leaders will keep a close watch over BP to ensure it lives up to these and other commitments. No amount of economic elixir could be worth endangering the health and safety of hundreds of thousands of Valley residents. We, too, will be monitoring BP on its vows to remain a responsible corporate neighbor.

But at this point, we must take BP at its word and welcome it for what we hope will be a long productive era of growth for this Valley and its residents who have waited far too long for realistic hopes of a vibrant industrial future.