Valero Refinery to Close
Nov 20th, 2009 by Tennessee Walker
The Oil Refinery that produces 70% of the gasoline for the Delmarva Peninsula is shutting down. The Delaware City Refinery which has provided high paying jobs to Delawareans for decades has been losing money to the tune of $1 million dollars a day in 2009. 550 Workers will be losing their jobs in this shut down.
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T.W., I guess it’s a good thing that over the years we have been busy building newer , safer, more efficient refineries to take the place of these aging ones. It is also a good thing that over the years we haven’t been overburdening the oil industry with unnecessary regulations and fees, i.e. taxes, in an attempt to destroy their ability to compete. It is a good thing that our public leaders have recognised how important it is to ensure that we have a safe , yet reliable and in-expensive source of energy.
Also isn’t it wonderful that we have the subsidies heavey alternative energy sources ready to step in and replace oil ? I mean those windmills off the coast are just chugging away, oh wait they aren’t , are they? And they require a natural gas back-up generator, oh crap ! Well at least the people who can afford those personal windmills in their backyards and those attractive solar panels will have an energy source.
But seriously, the loss of over five hundred jobs is bad, the effect that this will have on the cost of all oil products like gasoline, home heating oil, propane and the like will be worse, this will only increase the economic pressure already being felt across the state and the region.
Just watch as our Gov. Markell and the legislature respond to this crisis in their usual manner. This closing is going to lower the already fraudulent revenue projections that we passed our “BALANCED BUDGET” on. So don’t be surprised that as five hundred or so families go on unemployment, as the entire state begins to pay higher energy cost, don’t in the least bit be surprised to see more fee increases (TAXES) and some form of increased gambling proposed.
For four consecutive Democratic administrations we have seen no real attempt to help this industry, we have seen more and more regulation and road blocking and now we will be forced to pay the higher price for these policies.
I just noticed also in the Delaware-online article that Gov. Markell was only quoted as saying that his concerns were to get assistance to the workers and to address environmental concerns. No mention of how this will affect energy cost or state revenues.
Pull those blinders off Governor, there are more problems than just those two coming our way from this.
This is good news for the Marsh Mouse and Delaware Bay Dimpled Frogs. Who needs gas when we’ll all be driving electric cars?
as usual, the left is twisting itself into a pretzel. it’s the usual love union employees but hate all employers.
zero emissions and zero employees.
no one seems to want to face the long term signifigance of this move. By closing this plant, Valero is betting hundreds of millions of dollars that the economy (and demand for gasoline and other petrochemicals) will not improve in the near or mid term future.
No Recovery for 5-10 years.
http://delawarerepublican.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/the-magic-of-democratic-economics/
Mike Protack
I’m sure that one of the answers out of the Markell administration and his lapdog Alan Levin will be; “We are trying to build up the small businesses that collectively hire the majority of employees in Delaware.” If I have heard that once out of Levin’s mouth, I have heard it a thousand times. I guess they don’t care about larger employers like Valero. Ugh.
cookie, I’m sure we will hear more about the green industries that the governor plans to replace all of the lost jobs with.
Cookie and Frank are both on point. It will take between 50 and 100 start up small businesses to replace the jobs that have been lost.
According to most economic development models about one third to one half that many jobs will be lost in the Delaware City/ New Castle area due to the impact of Valero workers not having dollars to spend in the local economy. Local Sub shops, grocery stores, retail establishments will be impacted and additional workers will be laid off.
The impact on local school districts is not even being discussed.
The points about Alan Levin are worth considering. That being said anyone is an improvement over the prior DEDO head, political Hack Judy McKinney-Cherry who fired long time professionals to replace them with Democrat apointees.