On Friday, Zane State College hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of its oil and gas land laboratory at the Willett-Pratt Training Center in Cambridge, Ohio.  The lab, which was constructed by Oil and Gas Engineering Technology program students, will help give students a hands-on approach to learning about the Ohio’s booming oil and gas industry. The lab consists of a pump jack, metering station, and a tank battery to give students a better sense of what it is like to work in the field, instead of just learning about it in the boring old classroom.

The land lab gives Zane State College students a unique learning environment, which will also provide them the tools needed to be prepared for the oil and gas field when they graduate.  Not only will the students be learning how each station works, but they will be learning the building and maintenance of each station, which is not something no other program in Ohio offers. 

To make this project work, Zane State had to think a bit outside of the box.

Zane State noticed early on that shale development was going to be a very important industry to our region.  With that foresight, Zane State has been working tirelessly to put together oil and gas programs that will help area students be prepared for the future of our region.  First, they put together their two-year oil and gas engineering program, which will graduate its first class this spring.  Next, they began figuring out how best to prepare students for the real life experiences out in the oil and gas field.  That is where the land lab comes into play.

Thankfully, Ohio has a rich 150 year history of oil and gas development, with many operators and suppliers in the area who are always more than happy to help.  Express Energy Services, Permian Pump & Supply, Ridge Tool Company, Triangle Gasoline Company, and Westerman Companies — along with several other companies and suppliers — assisted Zane State College in creating the outdoor laboratory.

“This land lab is opening at a critically important time as opportunities…in the shale oil business are continuing to expand.  The real world experience and hands on training our students will receive will provide them with relevant knowledge of the life of oil field operations, which is extremely valuable to our employers.” —Dr. Paul Brown, President of Zane State College

Zane State’s new land lab will help ensure that its students have the tools and real life experience to prepare them for their future in the oil and gas business in Ohio.  Thanks to Zane State and its generous contributors, the Willett-Pratt Training Center will be producing many of the future oil and gas workers here in Ohio as Utica Shale development continues to provide opportunities.

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