Posts Tagged ‘pennsylvania college of technology’

Canonsburg, Pa. – According to a new USA Today analysis, “The share of the population that is working fell to its lowest level last year since women started entering the workforce in large numbers three decades ago.” In today’s paper, reporter Dennis Cauchon notes that “only 45.4% of Americans had jobs in 2010, the lowest rate since 1983 and down from a peak of 49.3% in 2000. Last year, just 66.8% of men had jobs, the lowest on record.”

The nation’s economic outlook, by most metrics, is grim. In Pennsylvania, modest overall employment growth is projected over the next year, the USA Today reports. Yet there’s a silver lining. While many industries have experienced cutbacks and lower rates of projected job growth, Pennsylvania’s ‘Natural resources & mining’ and ‘Professional & business services’ — at respective rates of 4.0% and 3.2% — continue to be leading sources of job creation in the Commonwealth.

Natural resources jobs account for direct Marcellus Shale-related employment. And according to the USA Today, professional and business services jobs included ‘scientific, technical services, management of companies, administrative support, waste management and remediation services.’ (Yes, these numbers are in line with the Marcellus Shale’s Coalition’s (MSC) analysis from earlier this month – available HERE).

We call it the ‘Marcellus Multiplier’ – the powerful supply chain, made up of a host of small and mid-sized businesses, that plays a critical role in enabling the responsible development of clean-burning American natural gas from up to 9,000 feet below ground. Here’s a quick look at how this job-creating impact is revitalizing communities:

• While Fewer Than Half Americans Had Jobs Last Year, Penn Tech Grads “Can Pick From 15 to 20” Marcellus Jobs: Students graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Technology with two-year degrees in heavy equipment technology and diesel mechanics are being offered up to $20 an hour, said Mary Sullivan, dean of natural resources management. Some graduates are earning $70,000 a year, she said. Companies are telling the college “we’ll take everyone you can give us and then some,” Sullivan said. A graduate can pick from 15 to 20 jobs, she said. (Patriot News, 4/9/11)

• “Pennsylvania Enters ‘Golden Age’ of Natural Gas”: More [Marcellus] jobs draw in more people, boosting the state economy and the finances of individuals. Supply store owners like Paul Battista have tailored their inventories to meet the demands of the natural gas industry, resulting in a boom in profits. “From ‘08 to ‘09, we probably had a 30-35 percent increase in our gross sales,” Battista said. “And from ‘09 to ‘10, we had a 100 percent increase in our business. And so far, 2011, we’re seeing another 100 percent increase over 2010.” (CBN News, 4/14/11)

• “Landscape Architects Find New Business in Marcellus Shale”: The term “landscape architect” is more likely to conjure images of Central Park in New York than it is drilling rigs in Pennsylvania, but the natural gas boom in the Marcellus Shale has brought new life to a profession hit hard by the recession. … However, work generated by the Marcellus industry has become the bread and butter for many of his colleagues in the west and north-central portion of the state, said [Thomas] McLane. …McLane said he’s already seeing a surge in commercial and residential work along Route 6, the main road across the northern tier. (Patriot-News, 4/11/11)

Families, consumers, small businesses and those looking for steady work across the region recognize these clear economic benefits. In fact, a recent Institute for Public Policy & Economic Development poll analysis determined that a clear majority of Pennsylvanians support the responsible development of American natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. According the survey, “among those who did have opinions, more than two times as many expressed support for developing the gas industry as opposed it.” By clear margins, respondents not only support or strongly support Marcellus Shale development, but they also believe the “availability of jobs and job training opportunities were more likely to be expected to ‘get better.’”

More important than new jobs and millions in tax revenue generated for local governments and for the Commonwealth, though, is the industry’s unwavering commitment to protecting the environment and getting this historic opportunity right. “Drilling can proceed safely,” said PennFuture president and CEO Jan Jarrett this week. She’s absolutely right. And as Ray Walker Jr., senior vice president of Range Resources and chairman of the MSC, told a crowd of 700 in Pittsburgh on Monday evening: “Nobody wants to do it right more than the companies that do it.”

Interested in joining our industry? Please visit the MSC’s Jobs Portal to learn more about employment opportunities, because we’re hiring.

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

National Science Foundation gives funds to Pennsylvania College of Technology.

By Andrew M. Sederaseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $294,689 grant to Pennsylvania College of Technology to be used for educating and training high school students for careers in the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry.

According to a release from U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, the award is the first in a continuing $882,134 grant that the foundation anticipates awarding to the Williamsport-based college over the next three years. It will provide funding to develop state-of-the-art, college-level curriculum for many of the nearly 150 occupations related to natural gas extraction.

“The Marcellus Shale formation represents a tremendous opportunity for job growth in clean-energy technology,” said Carney, D-Dimock Township. “This grant from the NSF will help the residents of our region cultivate the skills necessary to work at the forefront of the industry, and on one of the most significant natural resource reservoirs in the nation.”

The courses primarily target secondary students from 23 school districts in central and northern Pennsylvania seeking a head start on college credit through dual-enrollment programs.

“These students will be able to take courses in high school and start college with some credits under their belts,” said Larry Michael, the executive director for work force and economic development at Pennsylvania College of Technology. “The program provides educational pathways for high school students to make a smoother transition and have a leg up for careers in development of the Marcellus Shale.”

Lackawanna College also offers Marcellus Shale-related course offerings, many at its New Milford campus in Susquehanna County. The college was not in the running for funding from the NSF, said Larry Milliken, Natural Gas Technology Program director at Lackawanna College. He said those kinds of grants often go to research facilities, like Penn College.

Lackawanna College has received some funding recently for its gas education program.

Chesapeake Energy, which is one of the major gas drillers operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, made a $50,000 donation to Lackawanna College to be used for equipment in training students enrolled in the Gas Tech Program.

Andrew M. Seder, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7269.

Copyright: Times Leader

Potential for economic plus to area. Williamsport benefits despite no well within 12 miles.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

With most of the nearby Marcellus Shale natural gas production occurring north and west of Luzerne County, the question of whether Greater Wilkes-Barre will benefit with an economic boom or be bypassed remains unanswered.

It depends on a number of factors, including the volume and quality of natural gas that can be harvested in the county.

If prospects are not good here, the proximity of natural gas development in nearby counties could have some impact locally if the infrastructure close to Wilkes-Barre has the most to offer nearby energy companies, drillers and their employees, according to an economic development official in a county that has been reaping the benefits of Marcellus Shale production.

Jason Fink, executive vice president of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, said chamber officials began seeing signs of interest in gas production in Lycoming County about two years ago when the appearance of landmen first became noticeable.

Work had begun on five to seven natural gas wells in northern Lycoming County by the end of 2007, according to records from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

By the end of 2008, 13 more wells had been drilled; another 24 followed last year, and four more have been drilled this year.

And although the closest well is about 12 to 15 miles from Williamsport, the city of about 30,000 is seeing “a number of significant areas of development,” Fink said.

A boom hits Williamsport

The first evidence of business development related to the shale came about a year and a half ago with growth in oil field services. Chief Oil & Gas has been operating for well over a year in the county and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. also has had a presence, Fink said.

Precision Drilling set up shop and Weatherford – a mechanical/technological support company for the oil and gas industry – is in the process of developing a 20-acre site in the county, he said.

Industrial Properties Corp., which is operated by the chamber, sold a 24-acre parcel to Halliburton, which is in the process of developing the property and projects the hiring of 250 employees at the site.

Sooner Pipe, which provides casing pipe for Chesapeake Energy and is one of the largest customers of U.S. Steel, just signed a 10-year lease with the Williamsport Regional Airport for a pipe lay-down yard. That project is expected to employ 50 people when operational, Fink said.

The work force at Allison Crane & Rigging – a third-generation family-owned company in Williamsport – grew by more than 50 employees early on in the well construction phase. And Sooner Pipe intends to use local trucking company Woolever Brothers Transportation to haul all of its pipe when the facility is operational, Fink said.

It’s all about infrastructure

Fink said that Williamsport is benefiting from the gas extraction activity, the heart of which is at least 15 to 20 miles northwest and northeast of the city, because it has more to offer than more rural counties to the north.

“They need to have access to certain infrastructure to conduct their business. We have a highway system, housing, hotels, restaurants – everything they need for their employees. Bradford and Tioga are more rural and have very limited hotel space,” Fink said, adding that rail service through Norfolk Southern and a short line and a nearby interstate highway also helps matters.

Bradford County saw 113 wells drilled last year, while Tioga County had 114.

Because of the influx of workers, the city saw demands for home and apartment rentals grow. Developers responded by renovating space above downtown businesses, creating new rental units.

Fink said local unemployment had been hovering around 10 percent, but he’s seen it drop to 9.1 percent lately.

“We’ve been working with the Pennsylvania College of Technology and the local CareerLink office. Really, once more local people are able to gain the skills this industry requires, I think you’ll be able to see a greater economic impact,” he said.

Would it work in Wilkes-Barre area?

“I would think Wilkes-Barre would have the same opportunities if they find gas in volumes in areas proximate to Wilkes-Barre. And the Wilkes-Barre area understands the positive side as well as the pitfalls of the acquisition of natural resources for energy purposes,” Fink said.

Todd Vonderheid, president of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, agrees.

“There’s certainly an opportunity to be captured for the region. Several things have already happened,” Vonderheid said.

Vonderheid noted that several suppliers and vendors to the gas-and-oil industry already are locating in the region and hiring locally.

“We’re trying to facilitate that and make the process as easy as possible. We’re working with energy company officials to better learn what those supply opportunities might be,” Vonderheid said, adding that representatives of Chesapeake and EnCana energy companies sit on the chamber board of directors.

Vonderheid said a presentation for chamber members on Marcellus Shale opportunities, the gas extraction process, environmental issues and the possible economic impact is in the works.

Copyright: Times Leader

By Andrew M. Sederaseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer

The landscape of the state’s northern tier is changing as natural gas drillers set up shop from the Poconos west to Tioga County.

The burgeoning industry also is bringing change to the curricula at some local colleges hoping to capitalize on the need for a skilled and trained work force.

Lackawanna College in Scranton and Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport have launched programs specifically catering to those interested in securing employment in the natural gas and ancillary fields. Other schools, including Johnson College and Keystone College, are investigating courses to prepare students for jobs in the industry.

When the industry made initial steps to move in to the region, Lackawanna College got in on the ground floor.

“Our goal was to try to find a niche where we could train people for jobs they could find here,” said Larry D. Milliken, director of energy programs at the college. The school, with input from the industry, created an applied science degree in Oil and Gas Production Technology program in December 2008.

The school asked Milliken, a former gas company employee with a background as an economic geologist who lives in Dunmore, to help with the program.

He sees great potential for the field and the creation of jobs, as companies look to tap into the gas supplies within the Marcellus Shale, a layer of gas-laden rock about a mile underground across most of Pennsylvania.

“I’m not sure most people realize the magnitude of what the Marcellus can mean and do for the state. … It’s going to be a huge game changer in Pennsylvania.”

Milliken said he sees hundreds of immediate jobs and the potential for thousands more as a result of gas drilling.

As an example, he said one well tender will be needed for every 20 wells that come on line. This year alone, he said, more than 1,000 wells are anticipated to be drilled and that number should double next year. This will mean 50 to 100 new well-tender jobs will be created every year for the next 20 years, he projects.

To prepare potential employees for those jobs, Lackawanna College offers an associate’s degree in natural gas technology and is developing an operating and maintenance degree program in compression technology that could debut next fall.

In addition, the college will soon start giving accounting students at its Towanda Center the option of customizing their degree to prepare them to work in the accounting side of the natural gas industry, Milliken said.

Milliken said Lackawanna relied heavily on curricula and course work offered by established programs at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo.; North Central Texas College in Gainesville, Texas, and Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. Using that material, Lackawanna created an outline for its own potential programs and sent it to 10 gas companies “for feedback and modifications before settling in on our own curriculum.”

At the moment, the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport is the only other place to get industry-specific training. The school has partnered with the Penn State Cooperative Extension to create The Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center.

Opened in 2008, the center will identify the industry’s work force needs and respond with education tracks that train people for those jobs. Careers include welders, construction workers, drivers and machine operators and fabricators.Tracy Brundage, the school’s managing director of the Workforce Development and Continuing Education programs, said that as the landscape of the Northern Tier changes, so too do course offerings at the college.

She said input from energy companies has been influential in the design of 21 new courses, including those through the Fit 4 Natural Gas program developed by work force development boards in more than a dozen Northern Tier counties using Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry funds.

Officials from Lackawanna College also lauded the affiliations and assistance offered by gas companies.

“They’ve been very active,” Milliken said.

Last week, Chesapeake Energy donated $50,000 to help Lackawanna College expand its Natural Gas Technology Program at its New Milford Center campus in Susquehanna County. The college plans to use the money for capital-equipment costs in fitting out their new facilities for the program that began last fall.

“We’ve been an eager partner in these efforts,” said Brian Grove, director of corporate development for Chesapeake Energy.

Milliken said that in the short time the program’s been up and running at Lackawanna, the partnership has seen tremendous interest from potential students and positive feedback from the industry.

The companies reflected praise for the two-way-street relationship it has with the local schools.

Grove said “crafting an effective educational infrastructure will benefit the community far beyond its borders by equipping locals with skills they can market within the industry. A highly skilled work force is critical to our success as a company and the community’s long-term economic success as well.”

Brundage said that while the program at Penn Tech is still “in its infancy,” she, too, feels confident that the college’s programs have progressed nicely in a short period of time. “I think we’ve positioned ourselves pretty well with the industry. We’re not going to be able to meet all of their needs but we can help with a lot of them,” Brundage said.

So far 65 students have taken a course, including 14 who have completed welding courses. One course was created specifically at the request of the gas industry.

“They told us what they need as far as some of the welding components, so we aligned some things internally to meet those needs,” Brundage said.

Wendy J. Wiedenbeck, a spokeswoman for Denver-based EnCana Oil and Gas, said it’s too early to discuss her company’s needs because it is still in the exploratory stages. The company is looking at drilling specifically in Luzerne County.

“If we are successful and determine we would like to develop additional wells in the area, an important first step will be to understand what work-force development programs already exist in the area and how the curriculum aligns with business needs,” she said.

“New curriculum and training programs often come into existence after we’ve been operating in an area for some time,” Wiedenbeck added. “They evolve from the relationships we build along the way and are very much the result of a collaborative approach. In areas where we have established operations, we’ve collaborated with local colleges to create or build upon programs that help community members build the skills needed to compete for industry jobs.”

Andrew M. Seder, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7269.

Copyright: Times Leader

75 percent of gas production workforce composed of unskilled, semi-skilled jobs.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

If natural gas production from the Marcellus Shale is as successful as energy companies and landowners hope, the companies likely will need to hire more employees to man wells, perform testing for and oversee the drilling of new ones and monitor their operations.

“The jobs associated with natural gas drilling are well-paying jobs,” said Doug Hock, spokesman for Calgary-based Encana Energy, which has its U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colo.

Salaries even for less-skilled positions generally range between $60,000 and $70,000, Hock said.

The types of company jobs that usually become available when drilling operations are successful include drilling engineers, geologists and geophysicists and permitting experts. Pumpers, employees who check wells on a regular basis for proper operation, will be needed after more wells are drilled, Hock said.

Other positions with energy companies include experts in land negotiations and in community relations, he said.

Rory Sweeney, spokesman for Chesapeake Energy, said the Oklahoma City, Okla.-based company currently has 1,032 employees working in Pennsylvania, up from 215 in January 2009.

Local employment

As far as local employment, Sweeney said 168 employees report to local offices, “but we have more than 1,000 statewide and most of them are working rigs in NEPA.”

Types of workers expected to be hired include welders, rig hands, production workers, engineers, drilling and land technicians, pipeline field staff, construction field staff, administrative support and dozens of other occupations.

Last summer, the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center at the Pennsylvania College of Technology conducted a Marcellus Shale Workforce Needs Assessment study that looked at potential workforce needs in two tiers of Pennsylvania counties – the northern tier, which borders Luzerne County to the north, and the central tier, which borders Luzerne County to the west.

The northern tier includes Wyoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Bradford and Tioga counties; the central tier includes Clinton, Centre, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Union, Snyder, Lycoming and Mifflin counties.

The study found that the direct workforce needed to drill a single well in the Marcellus Shale region is comprised of more than 410 individuals working in nearly 150 different occupations. The total hours worked by these individuals are the equivalent of 11.53 full-time, direct jobs over the course of a year.

The study notes that nearly all of these jobs are required only while wells are being drilled.

By comparison, 0.17 long-term, full-time jobs associated with the production phase of development are created for each well drilled in a given field. While comprising a very small percentage of the overall workforce, these long-term jobs compound every year as more wells are drilled. For example, if 100 wells were drilled each year for 10 years, 17 production jobs would be created each year, according to the study.

The study found the majority of occupations in the direct workforce were unskilled or semi-skilled jobs including heavy equipment operation, CDL truck operation, general labor, pipefitters and a variety of office-related occupations. These occupations account for about 75 percent of the workforce.

Learn on the job

Industry representatives, survey respondents and additional research indicated that most of these occupations require no formal post-secondary education, and only a few, such as CDL, welding and X-ray, require a specialized license or trade certification.

However, nearly all of them require the skills and knowledge unique to the natural gas industry, which are best learned through experience. Workers within all occupations of the natural gas industry are additionally prized for their hard work ethic and willingness to work very long hours in unfavorable conditions, the study found.

The majority of the remaining 25 percent of workers are in occupations that are white collar in nature, including foremen, supervisors, paralegals, Realtors, engineers and geological scientists.

Larry Milliken, director of Energy Programs at Lackawanna College, said that industry wide, jobs in the gas and oil drilling industry pay about 20 percent better than the same types of jobs in other industries.

“Around here, there are an awful lot of jobs in the $9- to $14-per-hour range. Jobs in the oil and gas industry tend to start in the $18-per-hour range and go up from there,” Milliken said.

A petroleum engineer might earn $40,000 to $45,000 teaching at a college or university, but working in the field for a gas or oil company, the engineer could make close to $90,000, he said.

The average technician in the natural gas industry can expect to earn about $30 per hour, which equates to an annual salary of about $60,000. A starting technician with a two-year degree can expect to earn $18 to $20 to start, amounting to a salary near $40,000, Milliken said.

In gas production growth areas, employees with at least associate’s degrees would tend to progress up the employment ladder “faster than someone off the street,” Milliken said.

Sweeney said Chesapeake has a variety of recruiting events, such as a drill-rig worker recruiting event this week through PA CareerLink, and a job fair in Towanda in October that attracted more than 1,000 applicants.

Chesapeake also employs a Scranton-based professional recruiting firm to recruit local employees for NOMAC, Chesapeake’s wholly owned drilling subsidiary.

Company officials plan to build a residential and training facility in Bradford County this year to serve as quarters for out-of-town employees and as NOMAC’s Eastern U.S. Training Facility, which will help the company train workers, Sweeney said.

Coming tomorrow: Schools gear up to train Marcellus Shale workers.

Copyright: Times Leader

Firm with substantial holdings in Luzerne County taking next step toward exploration.

By Rory Sweeneyrsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

WhitMar Exploration Co., the only gas-drilling company so far to have leased substantially in Luzerne County, plans to begin drilling by the middle or latter part of next year, according to the company’s president.

“Right now, we’re just filing for some permits for two, possibly three wells we want to drill,” said Whit Marvin, who heads the Denver-based company. “We do plan on drilling it and testing it for the Marcellus Shale.”

Throughout 2009, WhitMar has leased more than 22,000 acres in, among other places, Fairmount, Ross, Lake, Lehman, Union, Hunlock, Huntington and Dallas townships with little money upfront by offering landowners a contractual guarantee to begin drilling within two years.

The contract also guaranteed permitting within the first year, and Marvin said that process is on track. The company is filing for drilling and water-consumption permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, and is looking into any other permits it might need, he said.

From there, the company will negotiate with the individual landowners about siting for the well pads and gaining access to them, he said.

Much of that will be based seismic testing that’s being done, the results of which Marvin expects before the end of the year. “In essence, you’re using ultrasound. You’re looking for anomalies under the surface … that would be attractive to drill into,” he said. “We can make some geologic interpretation, (but) it’s definitely not an exact science.”

A drilling contractor hasn’t been hired yet, he said, but the company has begun work elsewhere in the shale. It has leased “large blocks” in Lycoming, Wayne and Susquehanna counties, as well as in some counties in New York’s southern tier, he said. Of that, wells are being drilled in Chemung County, N.Y., and preparations for drilling are being made in Susquehanna and Lycoming counties, he said.

In Lycoming County, the industry is moving so fast that companies needing and offering services aren’t able to connect, according to Jeffrey Lorson, an industrial technology specialist at the Pennsylvania College of Technology.

For that reason, the college and a group of organizations interested in the industry are sponsoring a business-networking expo today. Lorson, who heads the college’s Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center, said about 130 vendors are scheduled to be at the free-admission event at the Hughesville Fairgrounds.

If you go

What: Business-networking expo for the gas-drilling industry

Where: Hughesville Fairgrounds, Lycoming County

When: Today, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Description: About 130 vendors are meeting to display their goods and services, and to see the goods and services other companies are offering.

Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.

Copyright: Times Leader

College in Williamsport preparing workers

By Rory Sweeneyrsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

WILLIAMSPORT – Like many of his classmates, Mike Harris already has a job in electricity-generation lined up for when he graduates this spring.

The only problem is it will require the Dalton native to relocate to Illinois.

Soon enough, though, future students in these same welding classes at Pennsylvania College of Technology could be in a curriculum that funnels them into local jobs with natural gas drillers working in the Marcellus Shale region.

The Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center at the college is in its early infancy, only envisioned late last year and opened earlier this year, but plans are for it to expand quickly.

A collaboration with the Penn State Cooperative Extension, the center will identify the industry’s work force needs and respond with education tracks that train people for those jobs, said Jeffrey Lorson, an industrial technology specialist at the college who’s running the training center.

“With the escalation and the things with the Marcellus, there was clearly a need in the work force,” he said. “We knew we had a tremendous fit to support the industry.”

The jobs are certainly here, Harris said, and there aren’t enough local workers. “They can’t find anybody,” he said about drillers.

Lorson’s family has a motel in Bainbridge, N.Y., near Binghamton, and the place is constantly packed. “There’s guys coming from all over the place” to work for the drilling companies, he said.

He felt Penn College graduates would be “competitive” for jobs in the industry, which could feed off the college for workers in fields from welding to heavy machinery operation.

“The center has the potential to provide very meaningful training options for local residents,” said Stephen Rhoads, the president of the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Association. Certain skills, such as building and maintaining infrastructure and inspecting gauges and other moveable parts, “are all skills that could very easily find a home up in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” he said.

“If the industry grows as we expect it to, there will be long-term career opportunities.”

While he plans to enjoy traveling while starting his career, Harris said he’s looking ahead to hometown job security.

“I feel very confident, and I’d love to stay in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but right now as things are starting to take off, I think it’s easier for me to leave and get some experience,” he said.

The center could also help students outline career paths, an idea Harris has already considered. He’s planning to become certified in visual inspections.

“It keeps me out in the field, but it’s managerial,” he said. “You’re in the middle, which is pretty much where I wouldn’t mind being.”

See more photos of the Pennsylvania College of Technology Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center at www.timesleader.com.

Copyright: Times Leader