Natural Gas Production Jobs Continue to Increase

The United States is in the middle of a quiet energy revolution. While we strive to convert our economy to renewable energy, it is natural gas that will be powering the country in the meantime.

We now have more natural gas than we know what to do with, thanks to a new technology called directional drilling and the discovery of vast reservoirs of natural gas such as the Marcellus shale, Barnett shale, Haynesville shale and Eagle Ford shale.

Experts have estimated that we now have over one hundred years worth of clean natural gas in the United States. Natural gas may one day power our vehicles, trucks, trains and even planes thanks to a technology called “gas to liquids” which enables natural gas to be converted to gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Shale reservoirs have been known about by petroleum companies for decades but never seriously considered as a source of production since traditionally drilled wells could not expose enough of the reservoir to produce any real amount of gas. Directionally drilled horizontal wells can expose thousands of feet of reservoir profile and  increase natural gas production to an economically viable level.

What Kind Of Natural Gas Jobs Are Being Created?

For years the only jobs available in rural areas of Pennsylvania and West Virginia were in the coal mining industry. Coal mining left many scars across this rugged land and unfortunately no real lasting economic benefits. Low wages were typically paid by mining companies and profits from production often were invested elsewhere. 

The discovery of one of the biggest natural gas reservoirs on earth, the Marcellus Shale, underneath much of the Northeastern United States may provide more lasting economic benefits. The reason for this is that unlike coal, for which entire mountains are removed, a natural gas well occupies only a small amount of real estate, as little as a couple hundred square feet of area once it is drilled and continue to produce for years. Natural gas wells in the Marcellus shale are predicted to produce for decades before depleting.

These wells require production employees called pumpers or gaugers who inspect the wells and verify daily production. A gauger or pumper may take care of twenty or more gas wells. His or her duties may involve checking the level of produced condensate or water in tanks with a hand held gauging tape (hence the name) and doing routine maintenance on gas dehydrators, separators, pumps and other equipment.

In addition to production employees such as gaugers or pumpers shale gas reservoirs create jobs in areas such as pipeline construction and maintenance, trucking, heavy equipment sales and service, accounting and service industries.

The infrastructure that supports a large shale gas field such as the Marcellus shale is vast and complex. To transport the gas via pipeline to market there will be large gas compressor facilities that require round the clock workers such as mechanics and operators.

The Trickle Down Benefits Of Natural Gas Production

In the Bakken shale formation of North Dakota, which is both an oil and gas shale reservoir,  it has been estimated that the number of jobs created by one drilling rig is over two hundred. This is in addition to the rig workers or roughnecks drilling the well.

While the exploration phase of the Marcellus and other shales will create hundreds of jobs the real boom will come in the years to follow as all of the revenue from these wells trickles into the local economy. Most of the royalty money from Marcellus shale wells will be paid to private landowners. These landowners, who may get royalty checks of as much as $30,000 per month from a single well, will spend this money in the community where they live. All of this wealth trickles down to businesses like car dealers, real estate companies, restaurants, home builders, etc. As we have seen in the Dallas – Fort Worth metroplex, where the Barnett shale is being developed, the impact on the community has been dramatic. New schools, roads, hospitals and other infrastructure has been built in the last ten years, thanks to shale gas money.

What The Future Holds For The Marcellus Shale And Other Shale Gas Reservoirs

There are many obstacles to the development of the Marcellus and similar shale gas reservoirs. These include appeasment of environmental and community groups about potential groundwater contamination, noise, sediment runoff from drilling rig sites, etc. These obstacles have been successfully dealt with in the Barnett and Haynesville shale, allowing for their development.  One thing is for certain, and that is in terms of lasting economic impact the Northeast and in fact the entire United States will never be the same once the Marcellus shale is developed. For more on the Marcellus shale see: Marcellus Shale Information Site