Nothing Overstated About the Jobs Being Created Thanks to Hydraulic Fracturing
Friday, October 30th, 2009 | 0 Comments
Economist calls Marcellus Shale development “a game changer”, a “huge economic injection”, and “a huge shot in the arm”
Today, under the headline “Stimulus jobs overstated by thousands,” the Associated Press reported that “An early progress report on President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan overstates by thousands the number of jobs created or saved through the stimulus program.”
While common errors and simple mistakes may be responsible for what is an honest miscalculation, the fact remains that homegrown energy production continues to create good-paying jobs at breakneck pace, especially throughout the Northeast where clean-burning natural gas trapped in dense rock thousands of feet below the ground in the Marcellus Shale region is now being accessed through hydraulic fracturing.
Below is just a sampling of local and regional news articles from this week, highlighting the uptick in job creation and economic activity throughout the region that is directly tied to natural gas development made possible by hydraulic fracturing:
- Wilkes Barre Times-Leader: “The Marcellus Shale gas play will be “a game changer” for Northeastern Pennsylvania, bringing a “huge economic injection” and making life here very different a decade from now, an economist said Wednesday. … the region will get “a huge shot in the arm” from natural gas drilling. “The economic forecast is very bright.” Gas drilling has boomed in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania since horizontal drilling technologies using pressurized liquids have made it financially feasible for companies to drill into the Marcellus Shale, a layer of gas-laden rock that runs about a mile underground from New York into Virginia.”
- Buffalo News: “Gary Marchiore, a vice president at Constellation Energy in Amherst, thinks the natural gas-drilling potential of the Marcellus Shale region in northwestern Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier could be an economic boost for the Buffalo Niagara region. … “We have ample resources in this country. The Marcellus Shale is a wonderful example,” [Congressman Chris] Lee said. … Marchiore sees the Marcellus Shale as a great economic opportunity for the Buffalo Niagara region, even if the wells themselves will be in the Southern Tier and northwestern Pennsylvania. Local companies could support the drilling activity, including companies like National Fuel Gas Co., which has extensive drilling plans for the region and plans to expand its pipeline network there, as well. “This is an economic growth engine and proven technology,” Marchiore said.
- Elmira Star-Gazette: “Workers looking to cash in on the Marcellus Shale are lining up. More than 200 of them, resumes in hand Monday, waited in the parking lot of the Riverstone Inn in Bradford County, where Chesapeake Energy recruited workers as it intensifies natural gas production in northern Susquehanna County. Inside, hundreds more circulated, shoulder to shoulder, waiting to shake hands and pitch their credentials to representatives from Chesapeake and various contractors. Engineers, plumbers, machinists, laborers, truck drivers and a legion of other job seekers, 99.9 percent of them men, came from throughout the Twin Tiers, including Broome and Tioga Counties. … “This is kind of in my field,” said Eric Williamson, 46, an unemployed industrial plumber from Kunkletown, Pa., who was decked out in a tailored suit and tie. … The jobs are mostly blue collar. … Since the beginning of the year, Chesapeake‘s labor force in Pennsylvania has increased from 200 to 700, with a similar growth trend expected through 2011, company officials. … Since 2007, it rapidly has gained popularity among energy producers as they honed technology to effectively harness it. That includes horizontal drilling and a controversial process called hydraulic fracturing, which uses a pressurized chemical solution to fracture bedrock to stimulate gas flow.”
- Towanda Daily Review: “So many people attended Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s job fair Monday at the RiverStone Inn in Wysox Township that the line of people waiting to enter the fair extended out the door of the inn, through its parking lot, and halfway into the parking lot of the Dandy Mini Mart next door. “Well over 600 people” attended the job fair, which was held from 1-5 p.m., said Brian Grove, director of corporate development for Chesapeake. “We were really excited about it (the turnout),” Grove said.” … Chesapeake currently has more than 700 employees in Pennsylvania, Grove said.”
However, without the 60-year old environmentally-proven technique known as fracking – which is heavily regulated at the state level – this job creation, economic growth and increase in stable and affordable energy supplies would not be possible. Some in Congress are working hard to undercut this progress, though. Send Congress the message that responsible American energy production must remain a top national priority and that states – who have effectively regulated fracking for 60 years – are best suited and equipped to continue to ensure this process is executed safely and responsibly.
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