Marathon refinery closing: another hit to economically challenged Gallup economy

According to news reports, Marathon Oil is permanently closing its refinery near Gallup, NM. As the article notes, both the Gallup and another refinery being permanently closed in California are being shuttered “because they are the highest-cost facilities among its 16 refineries.”

The Gallup facility had 220 employees.

Earlier this year the Escalante coal plant near Gallup was targeted for closure. That facility had 107 employees.

To be clear, the Rio Grande Foundation believes in “creative destruction.” Market conditions change and jobs and economic conditions shift, but we also know that Gallup is an impoverished place. These refinery and coal plant jobs are good-paying work. There isn’t much to replace it. And, those heavily-subsidized and mandated “renewable energy” jobs are construction-only. Once the solar panels and wind turbines are built, there is minimal work to be done.