Three local counties poised to play a big role in the Marcellus
Shale play are ready to put just what they have to offer on display
in an expo next week.
The Potter, Cameron and McKean Counties Natural Gas Expo will be
held Wednesday and Thursday in the Gospel Tabernacle in
Coudersport.
“It’s taken on a life of its own,” said Helene Nawrocki,
executive director of the Potter County Education Council as well
as one of the Expo organizers. “People are calling and registering
to attend from out of state … the whole country is looking at
Marcellus Shale.”
The two-day, multi-county event will have specific targets each
day.
Wednesday is tagged “Education & Employment Day” and will
include visits by area students as well as those who want to learn
about employment opportunities. The second day, “Business to
Business Day,” will be an opportunity for local businesses to
become familiar with those in the industry.
The Marcellus Shale is a rock formation that lies beneath much
of Pennsylvania and portions of New York state and West Virginia
and is believed to contain a fantastic amount of natural gas. This
resource hasn’t been tapped in the past because it was considered
cost-prohibitive. Recent development in drilling technology,
however, has breathed new life into extracting this gas.
Anyone who is interested in the Marcellus Shale is invited to
attend the Expo. Organizers have received calls from people in such
places as in Maryland, California, Wyoming, Florida and Maine that
would like to be a part of the Expo.
“People from those with leases to Trout Unlimited,” Nawrocki
said. “Any stakeholder you name can attend … anyone who wants to
know what trucks are coming through their neighborhood.”
There are currently 70 exhibitors and a waiting list for 30
more.
Businesses that are not able to exhibit are planning to come
anyway to distribute their information, Nawrocki said. A 72-page
directory will also be a reference piece for years to come.
“We knew this was going to be big, but don’t think we knew what
big was,” Nawrocki said, adding this has the possibility of
affecting many aspects of this area, including the hospitality
industry, piping companies, sand companies, welding companies and
employment in general. “We are used to be a tourist destination.
This is a whole new way of thinking.”
Ann Robinson, director of the Business Resource Center at the
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, said McKean County organizers
wanted to seize the opportunity before it slipped by.
“We saw the need to come together as a group to prepare McKean
County for as we hope to be a lot of activity with Marcellus
Shale.”
Part of that is setting up a Web site — mckeangas.com — that will inform those
coming to the area what it has to offer.
And when the opportunity came to join Potter and Cameron
counties that was just the icing on the cake.
“Anytime you can collaborate with some other organizations, it
really benefits both,” she said. “I think what this is doing is
showing off our part of the state as working together and are ahead
of the pack in thinking regionally.”
Robinson added there are a multitude of things McKean County has
to offer.
“Family values and a work ethic,” she said. “A tradition in hard
work, dependability and loyalty.”
And, as they say, location is everything. McKean County has that
to offer, too, with major North-South and East-West corridors in
U.S. Route 219 and U.S. Route 6, respectively.
“This is a county rich in opportunities,” Robinson said. “We
have the world-renown University of Pittsburgh, recreation with the
Allegheny National Forest, affordable housing, small town charm and
friendliness and quality health care.”
Tina Johns Lorson of the Cameron County Chamber of Commerce
agreed.
“We are really lucky that Potter County Gas Task Force people
are so willing to open up,” she said. “They understand that this is
a regional issue … some counties would keep the whole pie for
themselves.”
Even though Cameron County not be the hotbed of gas exploration,
there’s still plenty to offer.
“Cameron County may not have 100 wells drilled here, but we are
in the center of where those wells are going to be drilled,” she
said. “We definitely have the workforce. We are ready to have
office space available. We definitely have housing available.”
The employment opportunities hits home in Cameron County, which
has the highest unemployment rate in the state.
Nawrocki said that those involved in the Marcellus Shale
drilling like to use local businesses.
“The industry people have scouts to set up before they actually
get here,” Thompson said. “They are doing this now.” If the
workforce is not here and ready, they will bring their own. “As we
speak, the first well is going to be fracked in Cameron County,”
Lorson said. “It’s just amazing to see and it’s just one well.
The Expo “is such a great way to let businesses interact with
people.”
While there’s been a lot of talk of Marcellus Shale in the area,
Nawrocki said the real activity is still 18 months to two years
out.
“I think if we wait to see activity or evidence, then that is
too late,” Robinson said. “I think if you are not ready, you will
miss the boat.”
“Hold onto your hats. It’s going to hit the whole area,”
Nawrocki said.
For more information on the Expo, go to natural-gas-expo.com
The Potter, Cameron and McKean Counties Natural Gas Expo will be
held Wednesday and Thursday in the Gospel Tabernacle in
Coudersport.
The following is a list of events taking place during the
two-day event.
Wednesday: Education and Employment Day
• Open to the public, noon to 7 p.m.
• High school students, 8:45 a.m.
Seminars:
• Careers & Future Needs, 10:30 a.m.; 2:30 p.m.; and 5
p.m.
• Free seven minute chair massages, 3 to 5 p.m.
Thursday: Business to Business Day
• Open to public, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Seminars:
• How to Get Servicing Contracts with the Major Gas Companies,
10 a.m.
• How to Market Your Business to the Gas Industry, 11 a.m.
• Polytanks, 11:15 a.m.
• How to Get Servicing Contracts with the Major Gas Companies,
1:30 p.m.
• How to Market Your Business to the Gas Industry, 2:30 p.m.
• Free seven minute chair massages, 3 to 5 p.m.
• Water Resources and Natural Gas, 3:15 p.m.
• How to Get Servicing Contracts with the Major Gas Companies,
4:30 p.m.
• How to Market Your Business to the Gas Industry, 5:30 p.m.
