Posts Tagged ‘natural gas industry’

WNEP-TV
The natural gas industry is booming in many parts of our area and one company is trying to educate the public with a community picnic held Saturday near Montrose. Cabot Oil and Gas has more than 100 gas wells in Susquehanna County and at Montrose Area high school, the company and other contractors brought in equipment, had demonstrations and more to show the community exactly what they do and how they do it.

By Robert Swift (Harrisburg Bureau Chief)
Published: August 10, 2010

HARRISBURG – The natural gas industry is lobbying lawmakers to tax natural gas production at a lower rate during a well’s early years of production.

Proposals for a three-tiered well tax, requiring pooling together land parcels for drilling operations and making drilling a permitted use for local zoning are being advanced by the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry trade group. A copy of the coalition’s legislative agenda is circulating at the Capitol.

“Together, these policies will help ensure that Marcellus development remains competitive with other shale gas producing states and that critical capital investment will continue to flow into the region,” coalition president Kathryn Klaber said Monday.

Tax deadline Oct. 1

The coalition’s proposal surfaces with leaders of the House and Senate declaring their intent to pass a state severance tax by Oct. 1 and have it go into effect Jan. 1, 2011. The declaration is part of a state budget package enacted last month. Lawmakers return to session in mid-September with the Marcellus Shale and transportation funding issues competing for attention.

The newest details in the proposal focus on what production would be taxed at lower rates or exempt, an already contentious issue in Harrisburg.

Under the proposal, “high cost” Marcellus Shale wells that go to 5,000 feet or more below the surface to reach deep gas pockets would be taxed at 1.5 percent of market value of gas produced for the first five years, with a five percent tax rate kicking in after that.

So-called marginal Marcellus wells would be taxed at one percent of market value. These are described as wells not capable of producing more than 150,000 cubic feet of gas per day in a month. Wells not capable of producing more than 90,000 cubic feet of gas per day in a month would be exempt from taxes under the proposal.

Shallow gas wells would be exempt from taxes.

Market value would be defined as the amount generated through cash receipts less the cost of dehydrating, treating, compressing and delivering the gas.

As an example of high costs, the coalition cites a provision in state law that requires Marcellus producers to drill down into the Onondaga Layer which underlies the Marcellus Shale formation if the drilling takes place in a coal region. The added cost can amount to $200,000 per well, it states.

The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center issued a report recently criticizing tax breaks on new wells as depriving the state of tax revenue during a well’s greatest years of production.

“It would be a severance tax in name only,” said center executive director Sharon Ward.

The industry is seeking a two-sided exemption, with the reduced tax rate at the start and exemption for wells it considers low-producing, said Michael Wood, center research director. A 150,000-cubic-feet threshold is high, he said.

‘Use by right’

In addition, the coalition wants lawmakers to declare drilling a “use by right” in local zoning ordinances. That means drilling would be allowed, without the need for a major review by a local government, as long as it meets the standards specified in an ordinance. A local zoning permit would still be needed, but that would be issued relatively quickly.

This would provide for gas development in an orderly way while allowing municipalities to impose reasonable conditions on land used such as lot size and landscaping and safety features, the coalition said.

“We have problems with that,” said Elam Herr, an official with the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors. A township can’t exclude drilling under zoning laws, but local officials should be able to say where it takes place and keep it out of areas zoned for residential use, he said.

Other proposals call for providing incentives to convert state and local government and transit vehicles to natural gas fueling and giving priority to tax revenue distribution to host municipalities and counties.

Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com

View article here.

Copyright:  The Daily Review

This 180-hour course takes a participant through the process of obtaining a Class “A” Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). The course will focus upon typical on-road CDL training and include additional training in skills necessary for success in the oil and natural gas industry. Skills such as operating skills on lease roads, high center of gravity loads, and close quarter maneuvering will be studied and practiced. This training is already utilized by many of the leading oil and gas service companies for their current employees.

By RICH HOWELLS rhowells@golackawanna.com

SCRANTON – In order for Johnson College to keep up with the future of Pennsylvania’s industries, the technical school has gone back to its past.

T0 learn more

Johnson held an open house on Wednesday of their brand new Welding Training Center, located at 2001 Rosanna Ave. The college hasn’t offered welding training to students since 2002, when they suspended their Welding Program after 33 years due to declining enrollment.

As development of natural gas from the state’s Marcellus Shale continues, the demand has now increased for skilled welders. Johnson hopes to meet that demand through an initiative by the Center for Sustainability at Johnson College, which is dedicated to offering industry-driven curriculum related to clean, green, and sustainable energy concepts.

“Johnson College’s goal is to take welders and specifically train them for the API 1104 code, which is the regulation they’re using for the pipeline in the natural gas industry. Right now, there’s a high demand for pipe welders who can weld to the API 1104 code. That’s primarily been used in southern states, so in this area, there’s not lot of welders trained in that. Our goal is to get local people working on the pipeline,” explained welding instructor Jeff Roughgarden.

Roughgarden, who has more than 10 years of welding experience, said that Johnson is the only school in the area offering a full-time day pipe welding program. The school also offers evening classes. The two courses are Basic Cutting and Welding for Pressure Pipelines, which runs for 400 hours over 16 weeks, and Pipe Welding for experienced welders, which is 125 hours over five weeks. The Welding Training Center also provides booth rentals and customized job training.

“There aren’t many schools locally that do welding training. We’re different because we’re teaching it all at once in short, 16-week segments,” added Marie Allison, director of continuing education.

Most of the drilling is currently being done in Susquehanna County, according to Allison, but more gas well drilling is being planned in Lackawanna County all the time. As high levels of unemployment continue to plague the area, she explained that the addition of these industry jobs is not only crucial to the region, but offer steady, dependable employment as well.

“The longevity (of these jobs) is important. Given that right now there are a lot of industries that are laying off workers, we need career paths that have long-term stability, and I think the gas industry has that. It varies. Some say 15 years, some say 20 years, and some say we’ll be here for 50 years. I think it’s going to be another 15 to 20 years, and that’s going to help a lot of people.”

Allison added that while these programs give students the skills necessary to obtain entry-level positions as welders for the gas industry, the abilities they learn and develop can also be useful in other industries, such as pipe welding for boiler manufacturers.

“These are skill sets that are transferable across industry sectors, but we do expect that most of the individuals would be looking at the gas industry for employment,” Allison said.

The occupation itself, as well as its tough schedule, can be difficult, Allison warned. There are many benefits, however, to those looking to start a career.

“It is a tough field to get into, and it’s a tough career path. It’s sometimes 14 days on, 14 days off,” she said. “There’s a commute, and a lot of individuals have to be prepared to do that. If they are, then there are a lot of opportunities there.”

Copyright: Times Leader

• Marcellus production providing “a bright spot for Pennsylvania’s construction companies”

• “The region has benefited from the jobs created by the natural gas industry”

• Marcellus production “could bring hundreds of jobs to the area”

Marcellus development “a boon to local businesses”: “Activities around the Marcellus Shale have provided a bright spot for Pennsylvania’s construction companies in the midst of a recession that flatlined commercial and residential construction. In rural Lycoming County, construction crews are working around the clock to develop the infrastructure — usually in the form of improved gravel roads and large, stone drilling pads — to access the gas deposits deep under the ground. The building activities in the rural northern tier have been a boon to local businesses, as well as the region’s larger industrial contractors. … Outside of Waterville, Hawbaker’s crews are working night and day to keep pace with the gas exploration activities. “We’ve been able to provide a good wage to our truck drivers … and these guys are getting 50, 60 hours a week,” he said. Even more dollars are filtering into other companies that provide the storage containers and water for drilling. (Centre Daily Times, 7/26/10)

Area jobs ‘picture getting better’ thanks to the Marcellus: “The Pittsburgh region continued to show signs of economic recovery in June, with employers adding jobs for the third consecutive month and the unemployment rate falling by 0.3 percentage point, the state said. Moderate gains in jobs over the past three months “tells us that the picture is getting better,” said Robert Dye, vice president and senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Downtown. The region has benefited from the jobs created by the natural gas industry as it explores the Marcellus shale reserves, Dye said Monday. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 7/27/10)

Annual meeting spotlights benefits of gas industry: “A Penn State study, released May 26, updated a study on the industry that was completed last year. Some of its conclusions included that for every dollar the gas community spends in the state, nearly $2 in economic output is generated. Also, the study shows that natural gas production in the state could generate more than $8 billion in economic benefits this year alone and another $10 billion in 2011. In addition, it could add more than 88,000 jobs in the state next year, doubling the number created in 2009. … The influx of the gas industry couldn’t have come at a better time, with the major job losses the county experienced because of the recession, along with cutbacks in state funding for many of the grants the corporation has depended upon to cover its operating expenses, said board President David E. Cummings. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 7/27/10)

New Study Shows Positive Effects From Marcellus Shale Drilling: “A new study says natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale region — if developed — could create 280,000 new jobs and add $6 billion in new tax revenues to local, state and federal governments. … Natural gas production in the Marcellus grew considerably during 2009, adding 57,000 new jobs mostly in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. (WOWK-TV, 7/24/10)

Marcellus development creating real jobs now: “The opportunity for jobs and money and all the collateral growth that goes along with a booming industry is real and is happening now. (Washington Observer-Reporter Editorial, 7/27/10)

“Marcellus Multiplier” creating new jobs across the Pennsylvania’s supply chain: “A new joint venture in Hanover Township may yield up to 50 new jobs, with some related to the gas drilling industry. In what could be the first local sign of the natural gas industry’s economic impact, Plains Township-based Medico Industries Inc. is teaming up with Venezuelan company Equipetrol to expand to a manufacturing site in the Hanover Industrial Estates business park. … The two companies plan to introduce a new product to the Marcellus Shale region, a multi-port valve and production system that allows up to seven wells to be connected to the same system. (Citizens Voice, 7/27/10)

“Hydrofracking has safe record and spurs economy”: “Hydrofracking is an environmentally responsible way to stimulate the flow of energy from new and existing oil and gas wells. It is well-regulated and has been employed over 1 million times without a single incident of drinking water contamination. … Having the gas industry present is bringing in jobs, money and has improved many aspects of the local economies. President Barack Obama and New York Gov. David Paterson both fully support natural gas development as a means of reaching energy independence, while reducing the population’s carbon footprint. Drilling the Marcellus shale is an important aspect in reaching this goal. (Syracuse Post-Standard, IOGA-NY’s Michelle Blackley, 7/24/10)

“There are plenty of jobs available on drilling rigs across the border in Pa.”:”Drilling in the Marcellus shale for natural gas could bring hundreds of jobs to the area. That’s why Corning Community College’s Office of Workforce Development and Community Education has created a training program designed to help people get jobs in the field. “For the actual person who is going for the curriculum, they have an awareness of the job they’re going for to be getting in to. They have some basic knowledge about blueprint reading, safety, those types of things that they’re able to demonstrate as they’re interviewing,” said Brenda English, director of the center. (YNN-TV, 7/26/10)

By Patrick Sweet (Staff Writer)
Published: July 18, 2010

Harry Traver and Doug Brody glanced at each other, stood up and followed their neighbor’s lead.

“We didn’t drive all the way out here to make changes,” neighbor Joel Field responded when Carrizo Oil & Gas proposed amendments to the multimillion-dollar deal the three came to finalize.

Before the men made it very far, the company reeled them back to the bargaining table at its Pittsburgh office and hammered out a natural gas deal that includes the mineral rights to roughly 8,500 acres.

Willing to walk away from a deal worth more than $4 million – with the potential to become much more than $40 million – the three men exemplify the roughly 135 families they represent.

“Ninety-five percent of the people that signed live here,” Mr. Brody said. “I mean, this is our home … It’s been our group’s home for years and generations in some cases. We took our time and I think we did it right.”

Noxen is a community that came together and protested the closing of its post office on a bitter December morning. They embrace the camaraderie of a community that answered the call when its historic train station was threatened with demolition and raised money to protect it.

So, when gas company land agents approached residents in rural Noxen Twp., they demonstrated perhaps their greatest skill: their ability to unite.

Strength in numbers

Residents gathered under the pavilion behind Noxen United Methodist Church to formulate their plan of action. Across the street from his Whistle Pig Pumpkin Patch, Mr. Field found himself responsible for preserving the hopes of his family, friends and neighbors for a lucrative gas lease. The Noxen Area Gas Group was born.

“I kind of stood up and said, ‘Well, we ought to try this and we ought to try that,’ and everybody said, ‘OK. Great. Go do that,’” the 47-year-old farmer said.

“The responsibility was awesome.”

Over a 2½-year span, those responsibilities included innumerable hours of courthouse research, days studying the natural gas industry and negotiating deals that never succeeded. He even traveled to Houston to market the land that their farms, orchards and businesses have rested on for generations.

“We didn’t sign in the end, but for quite a long time we were dancing with Chief,” Mr. Field said. “The only reason we danced with Chief Oil and Gas was because we did courthouse research that revealed they had a couple thousand acres right contiguous to our block.”

Mr. Field didn’t realize exactly what he was getting himself into that day. He never thought he would have to hunt down the estranged brother of a neighboring family to gain his signature on their lease.

“It actually took a couple months to find the brother in California,” Mr. Field said. “They actually tracked him down through his union.”

Just as much, Mr. Traver and Mr. Brody – whom Mr. Field called upon to help organize the group – didn’t think they would be studying geology or helping to cover a several thousand dollar attorney bill.

Two days after the group signed the lease on July 10, Mr. Field, Mr. Traver and Mr. Brody sat down with Times Shamrock Newspapers for an exclusive interview about the experience. It was a complete about-face for the tight-lipped trio who refused to jeopardize any part of the deal before it was done.

Sitting at the wooden picnic table behind Mr. Field’s house, not far from the barn where the group held some of its meetings, the three men smiled as they shared stories.

“Getting up to speed on (natural gas) and keeping the people together was always, I guess, our biggest concern,” said Mr. Field.

“But the people stayed together and that’s what made it happen,” Mr. Traver added.

“Some of our principles in the very beginning, when we first started out, was to stick together as a family, as a community,” Mr. Field continued.

A boomtown again?

It’s not difficult to imagine why the community would unite so well. The tiny farming community has struggled to strengthen its economy ever since Mosser Tanning Co. left town in 1961.

The tannery employed enough people to force the construction of a second hotel and a row of houses nearby. It brought unprecedented life to Noxen’s economy that was once based on just more than a dozen farms and a handful of small businesses.

“When the tannery left, everything left with it,” Noxen resident Pearl Race said. “This was a booming town at one time.”

So, when a gas company comes and injects millions of dollars into a community that has seen half a century pass by since its industrial backbone collapsed, residents are more than excited.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing,” Ms. Race said. “It’s got to help financially; much more taxes, much more money.

“We’re going to finish paying our mortgage off.”

Carrizo paid each lessor $500 per acre up front with an additional $4,500 and 20 percent royalty if the company finds a decent supply of gas.

On the day of the signing, Mr. Traver said, an elderly woman who was having trouble getting by stepped up to the table, leased her roughly 1-acre property and took her check. Mr. Traver’s wife, Dawn, offered to take her to the bank.

The woman, Mr. Traver said, declined the offer.

“I want to keep it for a couple days just to look at it,” she said.

The possibility of a check more than 10 times the amount they just received, it seems, has most folks embracing the words of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: “Drill, baby, drill.”

“We want production,” Mr. Field said. “We’re not just out there to get the bonus money. The value in this arrangement is in the royalty.”

Is the gas there?

The problem is companies aren’t quite sure the gas is there. Carrizo bought 2-D seismic data, senior landman Phillip Corey said, to get an idea of what they’d find.

“Based on what we see, it looks OK,” Mr. Corey said. “You’re trying to extrapolate a picture with three data points, though, when what you really need is a hundred.”

The uncertainty is why Carrizo didn’t pay the full $5,000 per acre up front. The company will drill two exploratory wells to test the area’s potential before cutting any more checks.

The Noxen group is split into southern and northern areas. Carrizo will drill one well in each area. If gas production is strong in the north but not the south, Carrizo will only have to pay northern landowners and vice versa.

Wooden stakes with neon flags tied to the tops mark the location of the northern well in Mr. Field’s pumpkin patch. The Sordoni family’s huge Sterling Farms property will host to the southern well.

The Sordoni property is one of a few properties directly abutting Harveys Lake. A provision in the lease prevents Carrizo from drilling within 500 feet of any structure or water source.

Still, some folks are concerned with what might unfold.

Noxen resident Viola Robbins, 72, has family in Dimock Twp., the poster-child community for environmental disasters caused by natural gas drilling. Thousands of gallons of potentially carcinogenic drilling fluid spilled just outside the town.

“They can’t do nothing,” Ms. Robbins said. “(The gas company) brought them water for drinking and cooking.”

Toxic water forced Ms. Robbins’ great-niece Andrea Ely and her family to move back in with her parents.

“I’m against it,” Ms. Robbins said. “Maybe it’s me. It might be a different story if I had lots of land for them to drill on.”

Still, many others have faith that Carrizo won’t make the same mistakes as Cabot Oil and Gas did in Dimock Twp.

“We all own farms down through here,” Mr. Traver said. “When these people say that they are worried about the water, they aren’t as worried as these guys, because that’s how they make their living.”

Contact the writer:

psweet@citizensvoice.com

View article here.

Copyright: The Scranton Times

By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: June 29, 2010

Gas tax law could OK ‘forced pooling’

Firms would drill from nearby site

The Marcellus Shale natural gas industry wants to see legislation attached to any severance tax adopted by the state that would force property owners who refuse leases to allow drillers to gather the gas beneath their land, an industry coalition leader said Monday.

Calling it the most economical and conservative land-use approach to drilling for gas, David Spigelmyer, Chesapeake Energy’s regional vice president for government relations, said in a Times-Tribune editorial board meeting that “forced pooling” is a key element of any legislation the state’s Marcellus drillers could support and is actively being discussed during budget negotiations in the capital.

Mr. Spigelmyer said he does not expect forced pooling to be adopted in the coming days as part of budget talks, but he said “an agreement” likely will emerge with the budget “to talk about (the severance tax) holistically” with other industry-supported legislation on forced pooling.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition, an organization of the state’s Marcellus drillers, “has not said, ‘Hell no’ ” to a severance tax, said Mr. Spigelmyer, the group’s vice chairman. “We’ve said there needs to be a broader discussion.”

A forced pooling statute would require landowners without gas leases to allow a company to drill under their land from a nearby leased property, and it would define the amount of royalties those holdout landowners are owed for their gas.

Eminent domain

Such a statute would help avoid an unnecessary proliferation of wells, Mr. Spigelmyer said, but critics say it is a form of eminent domain.

In May, State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, D-74, Houtzdale, Clearfield County, called it a “controversial, ugly provision” through which “an intrusive government would be depriving an individual’s property rights to benefit private companies.”

Limit zoning laws

As part of severance tax discussions, the industry also wants to limit municipal ordinances that attempt to regulate where gas drilling can occur – a development spurred by a state Supreme Court decision last year that opened the door for municipalities to have some control over where gas wells are located through zoning.

“We’re willing to work with municipalities, but we’re seeing … an extraordinary number of ordinances that are coming into play that basically zone out development completely,” Mr. Spigelmyer said. “We want to make sure we don’t have ordinances in place that basically remove your rights.”

Negotiations over a severance tax are at the center of ongoing state budget decisions, and Mr. Spigelmyer said Monday a Pennsylvania tax needs to look like those in other, competing shale-gas producing states.

Pennsylvania has benefitted from increased drilling without a severance tax, he said, but an unfair tax and recently introduced legislation to halt drilling in the state will deter development.

“I’ve already seen where companies have walked away from joint venture opportunities to invest in Pennsylvania because of the mere inference of a moratorium,” he said.

“It has the potential to, and I think it already has, limited capital investment in the commonwealth.”

Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com

View article here.

Copyright:  The Scranton Times

Marcellus job growth the largest “for any sector in [PA], save for…temporary census jobs”

Want to know how tough the economy is in Pennsylvania right now? Of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties, only five did not lose jobs over the past 12 months. But only two of those counties actually improved their unemployment rate (that is, lowered it) by more than two percentage points compared to last year. And wouldn’t you know it — they just happen to be neighbors: Bradford and Tioga Counties. One other thing they share in common: They both happen to be places were Marcellus Shale producers are investing millions of dollars a day to develop clean-burning natural gas for the Commonwealth.

You’ve heard of the Marcellus Multiplier, now meet the Rural Revitalizer. Take a look at the numbers for yourself: In counties where the responsible development of the Marcellus Shale is taking place, jobs are being created, unemployment rates are being held at bay, and millions of dollars are being returned to local governments to provide for essential services.

Bradford County’s story is among the best. In 2009, the local unemployment rate was approaching 11 percent. Today? As recently reported by the Towanda Daily Review, it “leads the state of Pennsylvania in new job creation with 2,000 more people employed than one year ago.”

Today’s Scranton Times Tribune sheds additional light on the positive and lasting impact that Marcellus Shale development is having on job creation and growth across the Commonwealth:

In May, a Penn State University study funded by the natural gas industry said development in the Marcellus Shale region would create 88,000 jobs in 2010. With unemployment up in the state, Bradford County has bucked trends with an unemployment rate that has gone down in the last year.

The Current Employment Statistics for the state in May show statewide mining and logging employment of 23,900, up 2,300 for the year. That growth, 10.6 percent, is the largest rate of growth for any sector in the state, save for federal government employment gains from temporary census jobs.

In Bradford County, an area of high drilling activity, seasonally adjusted unemployment is down a full percentage point, from 8.8 percent last year to 7.8 percent in May. Establishment data, a count of jobs in the county, showed a 1,100-job gain during the year, or 5 percent, to a total of 22,900 jobs, according to state data.

Regional Newspapers Highlight the Economic, Workforce Opportunities for Pennsylvanians

• “With the boom in Marcellus Shale natural gas development throughout the region, area educational institutions are growing to keep up with work force demands. New training, certification and degree programs are being created at local schools to ensure local job skills are tailored to white- and blue-collared job needs related to the natural gas drilling industry. … An industry-financed study conducted by Penn State’s department of energy and mineral engineering, which offers an undergraduate degree in natural gas engineering, expected Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction efforts to create more than 200,000 jobs in the state and have an overall $18 billion economic impact by this year. (Scranton Times Tribune, 6/28/10)

• “It’s just a great opportunity for people to really see what opportunities this industry can provide,” Thompson said. “And it’s not limited to natural gas drilling and extracting. It’s everything. It touches so many different verticals, from food, insurance, gas rig and well site construction, it really runs the gamut of what a lot of people in this area have been doing well for years.” (Morning Times, 6/28/10)

Editorial Pages Underscore the Opportunities Created Through Responsible Marcellus Development

• “Ground was broken Tuesday afternoon for a Natural Gas Park that will serve the needs of an energy source for the next century. In the evening, Williamsport City Council approved a land development plan for a new gas industry tenant at 240 Arch St. with the potential for 200 to 250 jobs. … These opportunities for our region, its families and its economic profile come along once in a lifetime. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette Editorial, 6/29/10)

• Good news for Valley was millions of years in the making: “Marcellus Shale covers an area equal to Pennsylvania and Ohio combined, but the good news locally was concentrated on a plot the size of a couple of city blocks straddling the border of Youngstown and Girard. It was there that ground was broken for V&M Star’s expansion, a $650 million project that will provide construction jobs now and, eventually, 350 jobs making oil-country grade pipe. … Now, with new technology and increasing demand for clean-burning natural gas, investors are looking at drilling thousands of Marcellus Shale wells. And hundreds of miles of pipe for those wells will be coming from the Mahoning Valley. (Youngstown Vindicator Editorial, 6/30/10)

To join our fight for more affordable, stable supplies of American-made energy, and for more jobs across the region, visit Marcelluscoalition.org, and become a “Friend of Marcellus.”

BY STEVE McCONNELL (STAFF WRITER)
Published: June 28, 2010

With the boom in Marcellus Shale natural gas development throughout the region, area educational institutions are growing to keep up with work force demands.

New training, certification and degree programs are being created at local schools to ensure local job skills are tailored to white- and blue-collared job needs related to the natural gas drilling industry.

Already, Lackawanna College and Johnson College in Scranton, Keystone College in LaPlume and the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport represent the growing trend of educational institutions offering course work and the hands-on training needed to become employable in one of Pennsylvania’s growing industries.

And, college administrators agree the reason for the trend is simple: There’s a demand for it by both the industry and potential workers who want the training and the jobs that come with it.

An industry-financed study conducted by Penn State’s department of energy and mineral engineering, which offers an undergraduate degree in natural gas engineering, expected Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction efforts to create more than 200,000 jobs in the state and have an overall $18 billion economic impact by this year.

“Marcellus Shale is going to be big business,” said Christopher Kucharski, Lackawanna College spokesman. “Problem is there is just nobody trained to handle the positions they want filled.”

It appears a change is under way.

Larry Milliken, director of Lackawanna College’s energy program and a natural gas instructor, just finished guiding the first class of 18 students through its first year of study to earn an associate degree in natural gas technology.

Based at the college’s New Milford campus in the center of the action near gas fields in Susquehanna County, the program is preparing students for well tender jobs – a position that requires monitoring and maintaining natural gas wells during their lengthy production phase.

There is generally one well tender employed for every 20 to 40 natural gas wells, Mr. Milliken said, and the entry-level annual salary is $36,000. Sixteen students have paid internships with natural gas drilling companies this summer in western Pennsylvania, he added.

“The industry has been very supportive of wanting to get (our students) on board,” he said. The college also is hiring three additional instructors this year to accommodate the increase in students who have enrolled in the natural gas technology degree program for the 2010-11 school year.

At Lackawanna College’s new campus in Hawley, college administrators recently announced a new certificate course for fall centered on training accounting assistants, accounting clerks and administrative assistants specifically for the oil and gas industry.

Tracy Brundage, managing director of work force development at Pennsylvania College of Technology, said administrators decided to take the leap into offering natural gas drilling-related courses this year. The decision followed an in-house study that determined growing employment opportunities because of the prevalence of natural gas development under way in the region.

“The jobs are going to be around for a long time,” Ms. Brundage said. “We’re just getting started … to get our arms around what is happening … and how we need to respond.”

Pennsylvania College of Technology has just begun offering training and certification classes in welding specialized for the industry’s infrastructure and commercial driver’s license classes, and has tweaked some of its academic majors – including diesel and electrical technology – to include natural gas drilling-related coursework.

So far, about 350 students have enrolled in the non-degree programs.

The college plans to expand its offerings, perhaps to include training for natural gas well operators and emergency response technicians, Ms. Brundage said.

Keystone College, known for its focus on the liberal arts, is also jumping on board.

Robert Cook, Ph.D., the college’s environmental resource management program coordinator, said the college will be offering a handful of new courses early next year that include mapping underground natural resources tied specifically to natural gas.

The environmental resource management degree, a four-year Bachelor of Science, has had its “highest level of interest this year” in part because of the Marcellus Shale boom and an expectation that jobs will be available for graduates, Dr. Cook said. The degree, which includes environmental law courses, can also prepare a would-be environmental regulator, he added.

“It’s clear energy is going to be an important subject for decades,” said Dr. Cook, a professional geologist. “It’s thrilling to see our discipline become an important skill set.”

Keystone is also hiring a new instructor to teach undergraduate courses within a new natural gas and petroleum resource curriculum that is now under development.

Marie Allison, director of continuing education at Johnson College, said the college will be offering its first class in pipe welding next week tailored to techniques needed by the natural gas industry. The college also will offer a class for advanced welders to prepare for certification in a specific style of welding demanded by the industry.

The college’s welding program had been defunct since 2001, because of declining enrollment, but the multitude of pipes and fittings that will be laid by the industry in the coming years yields greater demand for skilled welders, she said.

“They need welders,” Ms. Allison said. “We want to give someone the fundamentals and give them the opportunity to find a job.”

Contact the writer: smcconnell@timesshamrock.com

View this article here.

Copyright:  The Scranton Times

• “There were a lot of people around here who had a nicer Christmas last year because of the gas busines

• “The greatest economic and clean-energy opportunity of our lifetime

• “This is a good thing for us”

Marcellus Shale creating “family-sustaining jobs”: John Moran Jr., president of Moran Industries, described the arrival of the natural gas industry as “a wonderful thing” that will both create “family-sustaining jobs” and lead people to finally “really believe the clouds (have) parted.” He likened the gas industry to “a blessing from God” and predicted a trickle-down effect and creation of new wealth unlike anything seen here since the long-ago lumber era. Heinz said the gas industry brings to the area “unlimited” business and employment opportunities. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 6/23/10)

Responsible Marcellus development benefiting “the mom-and-pops”: “The burst in industrial activity creates new business opportunities and spinoff benefits for established companies, said Marilyn Morgan, president of the Greater Montrose Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve got a lot of entrepreneurs,” she said, including vendors selling food at drilling sites and start-up laundry services cleaning clothes for gas-field workers. “The mom-and-pops are starting to see some economic benefits,” Morgan said. “Restaurants are seeing a difference.” (Towanda Daily-Review, 6/23/10)

Sen. Mary Jo White: Marcellus Shale “the greatest economic, clean-energy opportunity of our lifetime”: “It must be noted that this activity has generated billions of dollars for landowners, including the state, through lease and royalty payments, as well as hundreds of millions of tax dollars through corporate and personal income, sales, fuel and other taxes. … Without question, we must ensure that drilling occurs in a responsible manner. Thanks to increased permitting fees, we now have twice as many permit reviewers and inspectors on the ground than before the Marcellus rush. … The Marcellus Shale presents perhaps the greatest economic and clean-energy opportunity of our lifetime. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/23/10)

Marcellus Shale expanding PA’s workforce, small businesses: “According to Heinz, M-I SWACO initially will employ about 20 to 30 people at or working out of the Moran site, but he predicted the numbers will grow. … Among the employment opportunities are skilled positions for field engineers. Those hired locally will be those with both high school and college degrees, who will train before going out to well sites, according to Heinz. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 6/23/10)

Congressman Joe Pitts: Marcellus Shale will benefit local companies, “reduce energy costs while improving air quality”: “A Penn State University estimate shows that there is now enough gas in the Marcellus Shale to supply the entire U.S. for more than 14 years. Obviously, the Shale is not going to be tapped all at once and will not be the sole source of gas in the U.S., meaning that wells in Pennsylvania will provide a source of natural for decades. It is estimated that natural gas exploration could lead to more than 100,000 jobs statewide. While Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District is not located above the shale,local companies will certainly benefit. … With many Pennsylvanians looking for work we shouldn’t pass up this opportunity to create new jobs. Responsible development of the Marcellus Shale can reduce energy costs while improving air quality. (Pottstown Mercury,6/23/10)

Marcellus Shale generating new jobs, significant revenue for local, regional businesses: “Larry Mostoller’s company moves up to 1 million gallons of water a day for Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. “My company has grown 300 percent in one year.” “I employ 80 percent of my workforce from Susquehanna and Wyoming counties,” he said. “I’m definitely going to go over 100 (employees) this year.” Despite controversy about the economic, environmental and employment impacts of Marcellus Shale natural gas development, the industry generates new jobs and significant revenue for regional businesses. … A recent Penn State University study financed by the gas industry concluded that drilling companies spent $4.5 billion in the state in 2009 and helped create 44,000 jobs. (Citizens Voice, 6/23/10)

Marcellus development helping local school districts, “Taxpayers like the idea”: “A school district in Bradford County is now caught up in the natural gas boom. Towanda Area School District agreed Monday night to a $500,000 gas lease with Chesapeake Energy. … “This is added money that we didn’t have before, new money,” said school board vice president Pete Alesky. … There won’t be big gas drilling rigs on the actual school property. The lease only allows the gas company to drill underneath the land. If the gas company finds gas there, then the school district can make more money by getting 20 percent royalties. “They should get in it. The opportunity is there to get some money and they should get it,” said taxpayer Howard Shaw of Wysox Township. … Taxpayers who talked with Newswatch 16 liked the idea of the district getting the surge of cash. (WNEP-TV, 6/22/10)

Marcellus Shale ‘crop’ sustaining family farms: “Natural gas is a new crop for farmers in many parts of the state. It is harvested thousands of feet below the topsoil. This new revenue it generates has allowed countless farms to stay in business, repair and upgrade their barns and buy new equipment to plant their crops. The lease revenue has saved many farms from development and allowed farmers to invest in modern no-till equipment to farm in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way – both are good for water quality and the environment. (Wilkes-Barre Times Leader LTE, 6/22/10)

Marcellus Shale send rail yards booming, boosting “overall economic development”: “A $500,000 upgrade of the historic rail yard in Fell Twp., which was built in 1825 to help ignite the region’s coal boom, is a good example of the region’s new gas industry’s ability to boost overall economic development and of the growing importance of rail freight to the region. The project will make possible the easy delivery, by rail rather than truck alone, of many of the materials used in the booming Marcellus Shale drilling industry. … The rail yard upgrade is a good example of how to use the gas industry to boost general economic activity. (Scranton Times-Tribune Editorial, 6/22/10)

PA prof.: Marcellus “energy, income, jobs a good thing for us”: “Debate about the economic effect may overlook the impact on the ground, said John Sumansky, Ph.D., an economist at Misericordia University in Dallas. “The burst of energy and income and jobs coming from this spills over to a sector where the economy has been lagging in this region,” Sumansky said. “This is a good thing for us, especially in the fields of transportation and construction.” It is a good thing for Latona Trucking and Excavating Inc., a Pittston company that does well-site preparation and hauls water for Chesapeake. On some days, up to 60 of the company’s 120 employs do gas-related work, said Joseph Latona, company vice president. … “This will probably be our best year ever in business.” (Towanda Daily-Review,6/23/10)

200,000 well-paying jobs will be generated over the next decade: “It is likely, with the continued development of the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale and the aging of the current natural gas industry workforce, that more than 200,000 well-paying jobs will be generated over the next decade, with an even greater number as drilling activity increases. … There is an immediate need for truck drivers/operators, equipment operators, drillers, rig hands, geologists/geophysical staff, production workers, well tenders, engineers, land agents and more. (PA Business Central, 6/22/10)

Marcellus Shale is saving small businesses, allowing folks to have “a nicer Christmas”: “Donald Lockhart sees a big difference over the last two years at his restaurant and gas station in South Montrose along Route 29, a major artery for drilling-related traffic. “We’ve better than tripled our business since last year,” Lockhart said as he sat in a booth in the dining area while a flatbed truck hauling an industrial generator idled outside. “I’m selling more Tastykake than they are in the grocery store.” … “They saved my business by coming here.” … Dozens of small businesses in the Endless Mountains region benefit from gas development, Mostoller said. … “My employees live better because they work in this industry,” Mostoller said. “There were a lot of people around here who had a nicer Christmas last year because of the gas business,” Lockhart said. (Towanda Daily-Review, 6/23/10)

The game-changing resource of the decade: “The extraction of shale natural gas is set to become a major growth industry in the United States. Recently, Amy Myers Jaffa wrote in the Wall Street Journal that natural gas could become “the game-changing resource of the decade.” Already Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Louisiana, and other states are beginning to reap the economic benefits of a natural gas boom. A study by Penn State University predicted that the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania alone will be responsible for the creation of 111,000 jobs and for bringing in an additional $987 million in tax revenue to the state by 2011. Natural gas extraction has been one of few industries growing (without government subsidies) during this recession. (Biggovernment.com Op-Ed, 6/23/10)

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org