Conference to Explore Impact of 'Wet' Gas Market
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The first phase of oil and gas exploration in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays hit several years ago with a windfall of sizeable leases and billions of dollars in bonus money paid to landowners throughout western and central Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.
A second phase, now in full swing, is characterized by massive investment from energy midstream companies drilling and developing a vast infrastructure to transport natural gas to markets around the world.
But what to do with the gas once it's flowing -- especially the liquids-rich gas that portions of the Marcellus and Utica hold deep in their strata?
That's the topic of a conference and seminar, "Fueling our Economic Growth With Natural Gas," scheduled Sept. 10 at the Cross Creek resort in Titusville, Pa., birthplace of the modern oil and gas industry.
"What we've run into is that business in general isn't aware of what the potential is," says Lance Hummer, executive director of the Keystone Community Education Council, one sponsor of the event.
To address this, Hummer often asks business people to look around the room they're in. "They see carpeting, finish on the woodwork, upholstery on the furniture, and a variety of plastic pieces," he says.
What many don't realize is that the materials used to manufacture these products are all derived from liquids, or "wet" gas bases, such as ethane, which is converted into ethylene. "So much of what surrounds us comes from the petrochemical industry," Hummer says.
Much of the demand for this material is in the Northeast, but companies are sourcing the liquids and base ingredients from the South and the Gulf Coast, where "cracker" plants are commonplace.
The seminar will focus on the potential economic impact the oil and industry will have on this region, especially should Royal Dutch Shell move forward with the multi-billion dollar cracker plant it's considering for Monaca, Pa. Such a development would help spawn major growth and interest in the petrochemical industry in this region.
Co-sponsors of the event include Penn-Northwest Development Corp., the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, and the Northwest Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Industry Hub.
Among those scheduled to speak at the one-day conference are Dan Borne', president of the Louisiana Chemical Association and president of the Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance; Josh Young, government affairs director for the American Chemistry Council; Dan Weaver, director of public outreach, Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association; and Carolyn Boser Newhouse, deputy secretary, office of innovation and investment at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic development.
"We want to get the message out, and what it means to business and industry," Hummer says.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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