Dominion transferring 94 Clarksburg employees to Richmond, Va. - WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports

Dominion transferring 94 Clarksburg employees to Richmond, Va.

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By Pam Kasey - email

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Ninety-four of about 400 Dominion employees will be transferred from Clarksburg to corporate headquarters at Richmond, Va.

The positions are in Dominion's transmission, field services, financial management and services company positions, according to Dominion spokesman Charles Penn.

"It is not a cost-cutting or job-reduction initiative, but an essential reorganization to remain competitive in an extremely competitive environment," Penn wrote in an e-mail response to The State Journal.

Dominion hopes that all of the affected employees will be willing to relocate for the same positions in Richmond,  Penn said.

The reorganization and transfer of employees should not be interpreted as a lessening of confidence in the region or in West Virginia, he said, saying Dominion has great respect for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and the leadership he has provided, and that West Virginia is a great state to do business in.

He noted Dominion's century-long presence in West Virginia and its significant recent and planned investments in the state.

"One good example of our confidence in the business climate in West Virginia is our more than $500 million investment in our Natrium facility in Marshall County that is scheduled to go in service in the coming weeks," Penn said.

"Not only that, we've entered into a $1.5 billion joint venture with Caiman Energy LLC, which will further solidify our West Virginia presence," he said. "And we are adding additional infrastructure that will aid us in meeting the needs of the marketplace for processing, transportation and storage of both Marcellus and Utica shale production produced in our state, Pennsylvania and Ohio."

The new opportunities in the natural gas industry — in processing natural gas liquids and in transporting gas to the marketplace — come with tight deadlines, new and more complex technical issues, aggressive competitors and the need to create and manage multi-function projects teams, Penn said.

"This reorganization and transfer of employees will help us meet the challenge," he said.

Another six employees are being transferred from Pittsburgh, Penn said.