It was irony, in a good way, a positive way. Jim Justice recognized it, as did the person he was sitting next to this Friday morning on a numbingly cold day in Bridgeport.

 

The person he was sitting next to was Rusty Hutson. Hutson was in Bridgeport, from Alabama, on Friday at the ribbon cutting of NxtLvl, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Diversified Energy. Both grew up in the rural portions of West Virginia – Justice in Raleigh County and Hutson in Lumberport in Harrison County.

 

Justice, as most know, is in his second term as governor. Hutson, a Fairmont State Graduate, is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Diversified Energy, a major player in the energy market is based in Birmingham, Alabama.

 

While all development is generally welcome, the NxtLvl headquarters and training facility’s ribbon cutting is big. Not only does it expand on West Virginia’s oil and gas industry, but it brings with it 100 jobs and even more opportunities for those looking for a career (Hutson said you do not need a college degree to get into the business). And it all started with Hutson, a graduate of Lincoln High School, many years ago.

 

“I don’t think you can ever imagine those types of things happening,” said Hutson, about sharing a room with the Governor of West Virginia and bringing jobs to his home state. “… No, I would never imagined this would have happened the way that it has, but I’m so glad that it has happened the way it has because look at the people it is affecting.”

 

Justice said, he too, could not have imagined sitting in the governor’s chair. And, he added some high words of praise for Hutson.

 

“My grandparents didn’t have indoor plumbing. Can you imagine me sitting with the king of the natural gas industry,” said Justice, as he drew a laugh from Hutson and those gathered on the comment.

 

Hutson thanked Justice, as well as Secretary of State Mac Warner and Patrick Morrisey, also on hand, and other state officials, as well as those at the county and city levels and the North Central West Virginia Airport. He said those involved helped make the process of arrival into Harrison County one less complicated.

 

“I don’t think the future of oil and natural has been any brighter,” said Hutson, who prior to that comment said the narrative that those two fossil fuels going away was a false one.

 

NxtLvl’s arrival in Bridgeport can add to the brightness. The creation of the business was one done to assist the work of Diversified Energy, an oil and natural gas producer throughout the Appalachian basin as well as Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. When their wells go out of service, NxtLvl will focus exclusively on plugging them. Added to that good news is that they will not only be doing that for assets owned by Diversified, but for wells in other states and for other companies.

 

“In the past, there wasn’t a whole lot of plugging going on anywhere,” said Hutson. “The governor will tell you that there were a lot of orphan wells that the state owned and a lot of companies that weren’t taking care of their responsibilities.

 

“As we started looking at it, we saw people looked at it as a negative on the industry (and we said) let’s make it a positive,” Hutson continued. “We put together a plan and acquired three different plugging companies now. We have about 40 percent of the plugging capacity in Appalachia.”

 

Hutson said the work goes beyond West Virginia’s borders. He said NxtLvl, which located just off Jerry Dove Drive near its intersection with Route 50, will be doing work for others in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

 

“We’re doing it in a responsible way with good equipment, good employees, based out of here,” said Hutson. “That was really important to me.”

 

It was also important for Hutson to have it in West Virginia and close to where he grew up. Bridgeport’s location made that easier.

 

“We wanted it here, but it’s really centrally located,” said Hutson, as he added the importance of also being near the NCWV Airport. “We can be in Pennsylvania, Ohio in a very short period.”

 

Justice was thrilled to see the new business arrive. But, he said it was even better to have a West Virginian doing it.

 

“He never left us, and at the end of the day what Rusty is doing is remarkable beyond belief in many, many different ways,” said Justice.

 

Justice said Hutson’s company is addressing a problem for the state, and has turned a negative into a positive.

 

“To have it all here is the amazing thing,” said Justice.

 

Along with company officials, Hutson was joined by his wife Kimberly, also raised in Harrison County and a graduate of Fairmont State University. Rusty and Kimberly, who reside in Birmingham, are parents to four children.

 

Rusty Hutson worked in the banking industry for 13 years before co-founding Diversified Energy in 2001. He has a family history in the oil and natural gas business that dates to the early 1900s.

 

“I left the state at a young age after we got married. Being able to come back and knowing how many people we employ in the state, the taxes we pay here, and the jobs we create, the economic development opportunity, and being able to do something like this really close to home in Harrison County was big for me,” said Hutson.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows a number of state, Harrison County, and local officials on hand for the ribbon cutting, while the second photo shows Co-Founder Rusty Hutson addressing the large crowd gathered, part of which is shown in the third photo. In the fourth photo, Bridgeport Mayor Andy Lang, left, and Clarksburg Mayor Jimmy Marino were on hand for the event, while Gov. Jim Justice and Hutson are shown addressing the media following the ribbon cutting in the next picture. At the bottom is the new business sign visible from State Route 279 (Jerry Dove Drive).