UPDATE (4/26/13 9:00 am ET): It appears the Buckeye Shale Energy Organization‘s networking has paid off.  At a school of more than 43,000 undergraduate students, the Ohio State University student group was named the 2013 Outstanding New Organization Award.  Ohio State facilitates more than 1,000 student groups, and BSEO stood out this year for its achievements in educating fellow students about oil and gas and networking with some of the biggest names in the industry.

BSEO’s President and outgoing senior, Vince Melillo, told Energy In Depth how the award shows the recognition shale is getting throughout the state:

“Members of the BSEO are ecstatic to be recognized by the university. In creating this organization, we realized the potential impact the shale industry would have in our beloved state. It is nice to know that Ohio State acknowledges the same fact.” –Vince Melillo

Last year, Vince wrote a blog post for Energy In Depth on his wish to stay in Ohio by getting a good job in the oil and gas industry.  Now, he can say that wish came true.  He recently accepted the position of Project Engineer with Marathon here in Ohio:

“Not only was I excited to be offered a job from a renowned company such as Marathon, but I am thrilled to be able to stay in my home state. As we travel in to the future of the shale energy industry in Ohio, I expect more and more students to be able to do the same.” –Vince Melillo

While we can report Ohio has created more than 38,000 jobs related to shale development, Vince’s news shows just how important the industry is to the Buckeye State:  He was eager to remain in the state he calls home, and without this industry he likely would have been forced to leave.  Now, with the incredible opportunities the oil and gas industry has brought to our state, college graduates and technical students are not only finding good jobs, but they’re finding those jobs in the state they love.

—-Original post from November 9, 2012—

This week EID traveled to Columbus to attend Buckeye Shale Energy Organization’s (BSEO) Second Annual Shale Energy Student-Industry Networking Event.  The event was in partnership with Ohio State’s Subsurface Energy Resource Center, Buckeye STEPS, and University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio.  Not a job fair, the event was meant to facilitate dialog between Engineering and Geoscience students from Ohio universities and representatives from Ohio’s oil and gas industry.  Students were given the opportunity to network with more than 20 companies that are leading the way in Ohio’s shale industry.  Not only were production companies in attendance, but also companies involved in the growing supply chain for the industry.

Yesterday’s event was an example of BSEO’s continued efforts in outreach to the industry, as well as other students.  The group, comprised of students in engineering and geology, is led by Dr. Jeff Daniels of OSU’s School of Earth Sciences and aims to educate interested students on the vast opportunities shale development offers and to connect dedicated students with interested employers.  At a past meeting, Dr. Daniels also emphasized that while the students are promoting the incredible potential that lies in the Utica Shale, they are also promoting the safe practices used by oil and gas developers to extract those resources.

Dr. Daniels stepped out of the event to chat with EID about the group and its purpose:

I’m the advisor to the Buckeye Shale Energy Organization, which is a group of students primarily engineering students who are interested in shale industry and really working with industry and looking at the various aspects of energy and the environment for the shale—Dr. Jeff Daniels, Ohio State University (:19)

The networking event drew many of  Ohio’s oil and gas developers including BP, Halliburton, and Chesapeake and companies involved in Ohio’s shale development including Kokosing, Shaw Environmental, and Excalibur Machine.

BSEO’s co-founder and President Vince Melillo took time away from the event to chat with EID about the group’s unique event and opportunity:

What we’re doing is essentially gathering up people who are from our state who want to stay here and make Ohio into a great oil and gas producer—Vince Melillo, President, Buckeye Shale Energy Organization (:50)

BSEO’s Treasurer and cofounder, Alex Sava, is a fifth-year engineering student interested in the growing shale play.  He’s confident he and fellow students will graduate to many opportunities in the oil and gas industry:

I think there are a lot of great opportunities coming from Ohio, western PA, all around here. Students are going to have a lot of job opportunities from these companies—Alex Sava, Buckeye Shale Energy Organization (:20)

Overall, BSEO put on a great event, making themselves known to industry leaders and putting them in a position to hopefully work alongside them soon.  These students understand the incredible opportunities coming to Ohio from shale development, and plan to take full advantage.

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