Legislators Tour Canadian Energy Complex as Part of Initial Project
Study
March 5, 2014
Cheyenne, Wyoming
– Nine Wyoming lawmakers traveled to Alberta, Canada last weekend to get a
first hand look at a major energy complex that has spurred billions of dollars
in economic investment and created thousands of high-paying jobs. During the
Budget Session, legislators designated funding to study the energy mega-campus
and the potential benefits a similar model could bring to Wyoming.
Legislators from the House and Senate toured Alberta’s Industrial
Heartland Complex, a one-stop shop for commercial scale industries that spans
over 200,000 acres. Lawmakers who participated in the trip were Representatives
Kermit Brown, Steve Harshman, Michael Greear, Bob Nicholas, David Miller and
John Freeman and Senators Ogden Driskill, Larry Hicks and Jim D. Anderson.
Canada successfully leveraged many of its natural resources
to create one of the world's most attractive locations for chemical,
petrochemical, oil, and gas investment. Nearly sixteen years after the
project launched, the region is now home to over 40 companies with over $25
billion in investments.
“This is one of many options the Legislature is looking at
to bolster and sustain our energy economy for the long-term,” House Majority
Floor Leader Kermit Brown said. “With an energy mega campus such as this, the
potential is there to create lots of high paying jobs for Wyoming citizens. The
average income for employees at Alberta’s complex is estimated to be $148,000.”
According to Brown, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland complex
utilizes a number of symbiotic relationships that allow different industries to
work in tandem, minimizing costs and maximizing benefits. The infrastructure
exists within the campus, in terms of roads, pipeline corridors and other
necessary functions, that allows one process to finish and another to pick up
where the first left off, creating a “one-stop” shop for production.
“This is only a conceptual idea right now,” Brown added.
“But if Wyoming is going to get beyond being seen as a colony only mined for
it’s resources, we have to find ways to add value to our production chain.”
