Jobs 48 - Marcellus Drilling News

New Study Predicts 65K Jobs in Ohio by 2014 from Utica Shale

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012

The Ohio Shale Coalition released a new economic study yesterday prepared researchers from Cleveland State University, Ohio State University and Marietta College. The study projects annual production of oil and gas from the Utica Shale in the state will reach $9.6 billion by 2014 along with an eye-popping 65,000+ jobs. And those jobs will have an average salary of more than $50,000 per year, adding an additional $3.3 billion in labor income in the state. Both a high level overview and a copy of the full 81-page report are embedded below. (MDN is honored to have scored a few mentions in the “News Articles and Web Sources” section of the study.)

MDN particularly likes this graphic from page 39 showing net acreage leaseholds held by drilling companies:

Baker Hughes to Build $64M Facility in Ohio; Create 700 Jobs

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012

Baker Hughes is planning to build a $64 million facility in Massillon (Stark County), Ohio. The announcement comes just a month after Baker Hughes announced they are building a new $40 million facility in Harrison County, West Virginia (see this MDN story). The company plans to employ 700 people at the Massillon facility when it’s done (in three years), at an average hourly wage of $31.25. The economic impact in eastern Ohio will be profound.

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Mahoning County | Ohio

Youngstown, OH Scores Another 100 Jobs from Gas Drilling

February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

More jobs coming courtesy of shale gas drilling—this time in Youngstown, Ohio. Exterran Energy Solutions has just announced plans to build a new $13 million facility that when done, will provide 100+ new jobs earning an average $23 per hour.

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Residents to Get Free Pipefitter Training for Gas Jobs

February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

Yet more drilling-related jobs on the way, this time in northern West Virginia. The West Virginia Northern Community College is teaming up with Dominion Natrium to train up to 100 local residents to be pipefitters to work at the Natrium processing plant.

Congressional Hearing: Shale Energy a “Game Changer” for Small Biz

February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

Dennis Heller is a small business owner—president and CEO of Stephenson Equipment in Harrisburg, PA. Stephenson Equipment employs 120 people selling and renting construction equipment and crane services, parts, and operator training at seven locations in Pennsylvania and New York. Heller recently testified at a U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Energy & Mineral Resources Subcommittee field hearing in Steubenville, Ohio, on the impact of shale energy development and what it means for small businesses (a copy of his testimony is embedded below).

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Shale Gas on the Western PA Hot Jobs List, Solar Not Hot

February 27, 2012February 27, 2012

Which jobs are hot and which are not? That’s the question raised in a recent Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article. At number three on the “hot” list is the natural gas industry.

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania

PA CareerLink Offers Free Training to Work in Drilling

February 20, 2012February 20, 2012

Pennsylvania CareerLink announced they are offering a training program for those interested in working as roustabouts in the shale gas drilling industry for free for 20 people. The four- to six-week training course normally costs $2,500.

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Marcellus Shale Jobs in Southwestern PA

February 17, 2012February 17, 2012

Looking to land a job in the Marcellus Shale drilling industry? You’re not alone. According to Mike Forgione, a representative from the PA Institute of High Priority Occupations, there are a number of jobs available, including:

OH Drilling Rigs Expected to Increase 300% in Next 5 Years

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012

The executive director of the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Association, Rhonda Reda, predicts that oil and gas drilling rigs will increase 300% in the next five years, and those rigs will create new jobs to operate them:

Start a Company or Get a Job in the Marcellus? Try Water

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

Looking for a way to participate in the Marcellus and Utica Shale economic boom? As an investor, or as a business owner or even as a job seeker, you might want to consider water. Yeah, water. Try these numbers on for size: In 2011, drillers paid somewhere between $1.3-$1.7 billion to dispose of fracking wastewater in the Marcellus Shale. In 10 years it’s estimated to be a $15-$22 billion market—just in the Marcellus Shale.

Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Regulation

Obama Takes Credit for Shale Gas Drilling in Election Year

January 27, 2012January 27, 2012

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed earlier this week (We Don’t Need More Foreign Oil and Gas), Obama supporters and long-time Democrat flacks John Podesta and Tom Steyer tried to make the argument that we don’t need Canada’s oil (and natural gas) because we now have enough of our own, thank you very much. Apparently Obama is getting heat for his disastrous decision to pander to environmental extremists and reject the Keystone XL pipeline that would not only have brought cheap Canadian oil to the U.S. (at a time of record-highs for oil), but also would have brought more U.S. oil to the U.S. from North Dakota’s Bakken field.

Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Regulation

Obama State of the Union: Safe Fracking will Create 600K Jobs

January 25, 2012January 25, 2012

Last night, President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address to Congress. Energy and natural gas played a big role in the speech. In particular, Obama acknowledges the jobs-generating power of natural gas drilling, saying it can generate 600,000 jobs by the end of this decade. He also mandated a requirement that gas drillers on public lands disclose the chemicals they use. (Disclosing fracking chemicals is already the law in five states and mostly enforced in a sixth—see this MDN story).

Obama said the U.S. has enough natural gas to last us 100 years and that he’s going to “take every possible action” to develop it. He also reaffirmed his belief in global warming.

Education | Industrywide Issues | Jobs

Some Grad Students Make $120K per Year in Shale Gas Industry

January 23, 2012January 23, 2012

Heading to grad school and want to make $120K a year when you graduate? You might consider an advanced degree in geology or geophysics and working in the shale gas industry.

Baker Hughes Expands in WV, Sets Sights on the Marcellus

January 13, 2012January 13, 2012

Baker Hughes, one of the world’s largest oilfield and shale gas service companies, is building a new $40 million facility in Harrison County, West Virginia, and along with it, generating 275 new jobs. According to Baker Hughes president Paul Butero, the company plans to become a “major player” in the Marcellus Shale.

Southern NJ Refinery May Reopen Thanks to Shale Fracking

January 6, 2012January 6, 2012

A closed refinery in West Deptford Township (Gloucester County), NJ may soon reopen thanks to hydraulic fracturing. The refinery, owned by Sunoco, is looking at two possibilities: Refine oil from the Bakken Shale region of North Dakota; or convert the refinery into a processing plant to move and store ethane from the Marcellus Shale region.

Philly Frack Sand Company Expands, Buys WI Company

January 5, 2012January 5, 2012

Preferred Sands, a privately-held company headquartered in the Philadelphia suburb of Radnor, PA, has just bought out another sand company—Winn Bay Sand, located in Blair, Wisconsin—for $200 million. Preferred Sands is a frack sand and proppant company launched in 2007. It’s the largest frack sand producer in Canada, and one of the top three in the U.S.