Clean-Burning Marcellus Natural Gas Helping Small Businesses Reach “The American Dream”: Fred Raco is living proof that hard work plays a big role in reaching the American dream. … Raco is negotiating to purchase and refurbish a new facility in Richland Township, giving him three times more space than the city site. “We’re really gearing up for this,” he said of the Marcellus Shale. Raco currently has 23 employees working at his Johnstown laboratory and in the field. He expects his employment to reach 50 within two years. … Raco thinks Marcellus may allow more young people to stay at home. “They are by no means minimum-wage jobs.” Raco rejects the notion that the Marcellus jobs are going to workers from Texas. “There is a real misconception that all the jobs are being filled by people from out of the state,” he said. “We’re doing work with companies that are Pennsylvania-based that are manufacturing metering stations, manifold piping, that type of thing.” (Tribune-Democrat, 12/15/10)

Marcellus Shale Creating Jobs for America’s Veterans: A Penn State economic impact study predicted the industry will be an $8 billion boon to the state, with about half of that money generated in southwestern Pennsylvania. The study, commissioned by the Marcellus Shale Coalition, also projected that 88,000 jobs would be created in Pennsylvania this year. Those jobs are great opportunities for veterans, said Kathryn Klaber, executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition. Range employs dozens of veterans, Mr. Pitzarella said. “They’re ideal candidates,” he said. “They’re hard workers, team-oriented, natural leaders and have no issues with long hours.” … When Carl Dokter served another tour of duty overseas, Range held his job for two years and hosted a welcoming ceremony for him when he returned, he said. … Chesapeake Energy Corp. is another driller that employs a large number of veterans and is expanding its local footprint. The company employs about 150 military officers and servicemen, spokesman Rory Sweeney said. (Post-Gazette, 12/16/10)

Small Business Owner: “I am a Marcellus Overnight Success”: Three years ago, Larry Mostoller had two employees and was trying to develop a business park outside Somerset. Today, Mostoller employs 100 people and provides work for more than 30 subcontractors. He has gotten involved in the Marcellus Shale industry. “I am a Marcellus overnight success,” Mostoller said. Mostoller is co-founder and CEO of Somerset Regional Water Resources, a two-year-old company that provides nearly all general labor needs on a gas drilling site. … Mostoller is proof of Marcellus Shale’s role in changing the economic landscape. … One thing is certain: Marcellus is having an impact. … “It’s absolutely phenomenal. All of us are going to live better.” He is convinced that Marcellus Shale gas will continue to help meet the nation’s energy needs for years to come, and its development will take decades. “The person that drills the last Marcellus well has not been born yet,” Mostoller said. (Tribune-Democrat, 12/15/10)

Mayor: ‘Marcellus Multiplier’ Jobs Good “For The Entire Region” : For one Mon Valley municipality, drilling for natural gas into the Marcellus Shale will create dozens of new jobs. Export-based Dura-Bond Industries will open a 55,000-square-foot pipe-coating facility along the Monongahela River in Duquesne. It will serve to complement the company’s existing coating facility in nearby McKeesport. … Once opened, the facility will create between 75 and 85 new jobs in the Mon Valley, a fact that is not lost on Duquesne Mayor Phil Krivacek. “Well, anytime you can bring in a company that will create new jobs in the region is a definite plus,” said the mayor. “I think this a good thing for not only Duquesne, but for the entire region.” … “We are good stewards of the environment and will continue to be. It is imperative that the needs for job and energy production can meet with the needs of the environment.” (Post-Gazette, 12/16/10)

Small Business Owner on Marcellus Supply Chain Related Work: “We Were So Lucky”: Chesapeake has spent more than $94 million this year to pave or repair 300 miles of roads in Bradford and three other counties. That has benefited Leo Drabinski, who co-owns Calvin C. Cole Inc., a hard-rock quarry and construction company in Bradford County. He said demand for rock used for roads and well sites used by gas companies grew 10 times in the past year. He increased his quarry staff to 15 from six, and even started a van service to shuttle rig workers to their jobs. “We were so lucky,” Mr. Drabinski said. “We’re right in the heart of this natural-gas boom.” Business is also booming for truck dealerships, restaurants and motels. Some farmers have sold lease rights for $5,000 an acre, using the money to pay off debt, invest in new farm equipment or retire. … Chesapeake, whose Towanda offices are in a renovated department store, says it is working with local colleges so it can train an all-local work force. In the past year, the company increased its staff in the state to 1,100 from 250 and said more than 400 employees are state residents. (Wall Street Journal, 12/14/10)

Responsible Marcellus Development “The Region’s Gold Rush”: The Marcellus Shale is said to be the biggest natural gas field in the United States — spanning nearly 61 million underground acres under Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. Southwestern Pennsylvania is called the “fairway” of the shale by industry experts, and its economic impact reaches beyond the energy in demand. Local politicians have described it as the region’s gold rush and the second coming of the coal and steel industries. (Post-Gazette, 12/16/10)

Economic Leaders: “Marcellus-Related Opportunities Have Meant Jobs in Various Areas”: Economic leaders…have been watching the Marcellus action to the west of the region and in the state’s northeastern counties. “JARI has identified the Marcellus Shale opportunity as one of the top opportunities for our region in the coming years,” Thomson said. … “The Marcellus industry needs just about anything and everything. It’s just amazing the amount of things that are needed.” … “The spinoff is where we’re going to see the economic impact,” Silka said. … Bradford County Commissioner John Sullivan said Marcellus-related opportunities have meant jobs in various areas. “They’re building three motels in the county,” said Sullivan. Sullivan has a friend who sells tires, and the Marcellus drilling has had a significant impact on his business. Another friend has a quick-lube shop and is overrun with business… Williamsport has seen 75 new businesses open during the past 18 months – since the surge in Marcellus drilling began there. … Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition said much of the economic benefit will be outside the direct industry. “The jobs story is starting to have a much broader reach,” Klaber said. … State Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, said the Johnstown region is on the cusp of an improved economy. “It’s just beginning and there is a tremendous opportunity out there.” (Tribune-Democrat, 12/15/10)

Wall Street Journal Underscores Marcellus Shale’s Positive Economic Impact: A recent Penn State study estimates that Marcellus is the second largest natural gas field in the world. The study notes that Pennsylvania had $4.5 billion in Marcellus-related investment in 2009, generating nearly $400 million in state and local tax revenue and 44,000 jobs. … The drilling industry could compensate with new jobs in construction, trucking, engineering and a variety of attendant services. The industry also pays royalties and leases land from landowners, who pay taxes and buy goods. … The EPA and the Ground Water Protection Council, a nonprofit made up of state regulatory agencies, have published studies concluding that fracking is safe. While energy exploration is never risk-free, the Ground Water Council hasn’t found a single documented case of fracking having polluted local ground water. (Editorial, 12/16/10)

New Fed. Govt. Analysis Projects Rapid Growth in Clean-Burning Natural Gas

“DOE sees rapid growth in natural gas”: The Energy Department foresees a rapid growth in natural gas production over the next 25 years, according to a report from its statistical arm Thursday. … Natural gas will represent 62 percent of new capacity by 2035, EIA said. The greatest chunk of that should come from shale gas, which has already increased production 14-fold over the last decade. (Politico, 12/16/10)

“Shale-Gas Output May Double by 2035, Reducing Energy Imports, U.S. Says”: Production forecasts for natural gas locked in shale have doubled, which will help the U.S. become less reliant on imported energy, according to a federal agency. The Energy Information Administration’s annual long-term forecast shows gas from shale will play a bigger role in meeting U.S. demand, Richard Newell, agency administrator, said today in Washington. Production in 2035 is “twice the level that we had in last year’s outlook,” he said. … This year’s outlook more than doubles the estimate of U.S. technically recoverable reserves of natural gas from shale, a type of sedimentary rock, to 827 trillion cubic feet from 347 trillion cubic feet. New technologies that let natural-gas producers drill horizontally and fracture the rock formations with injections of water, sand and chemicals account for the increase, Newell said. (Bloomberg, 12/16/10)

“US doubles estimates for gas reserves”: In the first release from its Annual Energy Outlook for 2011, the EIA more than doubled its central estimate of the country’s technically recoverable reserves of shale gas, from 353,000bn cubic feet to 827,000bn cubic feet. The estimate would be enough to cover the entire gas consumption of the US for 36 years. The rapid development of shale gas production has already had profound effects on the US energy system, driving down prices and inspiring companies to invest in plants to produce supercooled liquefied natural gas that can be exported in tankers to Europe or Asia. (Financial Times, 12/16/10)