CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State officials are in talks with three different companies about the possibility of building a cracker plant in West Virginia, state Secretary of Commerce Keith Burdette said.

Burdette told the Rotary Club of Charleston Monday that he had signed non-disclosure agreements with three companies considering West Virginia sites to build an ethylene cracker.

"There is a heightened interest in this region of the country, and we need to take advantage of it," Burdette said. "Fifteen years ago, I'm not sure we would have made the cut, but now we are getting some attention."

Aither Chemical is one company interested in building a cracker here, he said. Aither would need a 250-acre site for its cracker model. Two other companies are considering West Virginia sites for crackers similar in size to what Shell had considered building, he said. Shell chose a 500-acre site in Pennsylvania to build its cracker plant.

After the meeting, Burdette said that in addition to the three companies, there is another that's potentially interested in building a cracker in West Virginia. 

The cracker would convert ethane gas from the Marcellus Shale into ethylene, which is used to make plastics.

"Experts now believe that the Marcellus region could provide a source of that raw feedstock greater than any place in the world but the Persian Gulf," Burdette said. "And it may be able to do it as cost effectively because of a combination of things, and that is location, location, location."

West Virginia decided to drill for gas in the Marcellus Shale and make something out of it rather than ship it elsewhere, he said.

He called Shell's former interest in building a cracker plant in the state "a warm up." Burdette said he was disappointed but not distraught in March when Shell announced it ruled out West Virginia in favor of building an ethane cracker in Pennsylvania.

"What I realized by the time it was over was that we had competed on every single front but one: Our site didn't have enough land," Burdette said.

Shell had been considering a 250-acre site next to Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester in the Northern Panhandle, Burdette said. The company needed about 500 acres, Burdette said.

Burdette touted the state's financial state, saying among other things that it was among a few states that have not borrowed money from the federal government to pay for unemployment benefits. He cited a report that said West Virginia has the third-best budget health and cash reserves in the country.

But the state also has improvements to make, he said, such as preparing a workforce to work in the digital age.

The state also needs to get citizens off drugs, he said.

"It's a cold, hard fact that when I was 20-something there may have been a general notion that [drugs are] all recreation, nobody gets hurt," Burdette said. "That is not the case.

"More and more employers are drug testing and they can't get a job," Burdette added.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin recently ordered drug testing for state workforce trainees. 

"We've got to start telling our kids [drugs are] not about fun and games," Burdette said. "It stays in your blood long enough and you can get the best education in America and if you can't pass a drug test, you're not going to get hired."

Reach Lori Kersey at lori.ker...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.