Tuesday, April 10, 2012LISBON, Ohio – Inside and outside the Columbiana County Courthouse, Commissioner Mike Halleck told a visiting U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, he sees signs of the oil and gas industry’s impact on the country.
“It’s the real deal,” Halleck said as he and Johnson, R-6, sat in his office in the courthouse. “All you have to do is look out this window throughout the day, and there’s all types of trucks and equipment and things that I don’t know what they do -- but I know they’re related. We’re really excited.”
Halleck also pointed to the activity on the floor below, where they also paid a visit. In the basement, where county land records are stored, a swarm of researchers fills the room, researching the property records on behalf of oil and gas companies seeking opportunities to lease mineral rights. Tables along the wall of the basement corridor outside the records room are lined with the researches’ laptops.
“I’ve been told we here in Columbiana County are probably the epicenter of this entire Marcellus shale play, for lack of a better term,” Halleck said.
“We’ve got such an opportunity,” Johnson remarked. “Eastern and southeastern Ohio is going to factor big into the energy future of America.”
Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s announcement that it would build a $900 million natural gas processing plant in the county is “an exciting thing,” Johnson remarked. “That’s going to be a big shot in the arm,” he said. Additionally, MarkWest Energy Partners LP’s plans in Harrison County and Haliburton’s in Cambridge provide “all kinds of tangible evidence that this is no fooling, this is a real opportunity,” he added.
Only two years ago, Halleck said, there might have been just one or two researchers in the records room.
“We have at any given time eight to 10 different companies doing title and abstract work in the county courthouse – upwards of 100 people on a daily basis, which the merchants of Lisbon certainly appreciate,” he said. “The moneys that they’re spending within the county, whether it be on gas, meals, lodging, have certainly been beneficial in terms of our general fund budget related to our sales tax revenue.”
Although much of the work is being done by the researchers themselves, the activity keeps the staff of the recorder’s office busy nonetheless.
“It’s just crazy,” remarked Diane Reiter, deputy recorder. The office has four employees and she acknowledged the increase in activity puts additional pressure on staff, who still assist the researchers with making copies and finding documents.
“Most of the kids that are in here are very nice and respectful. It’s just that there are so many,” she said. “It’s a burden for them and it’s a burden for us.”
The local economy will additionally benefit from about $200 million related to lease deals that Halleck said is yet to be distributed by various companies.
Johnson, like his Republican colleagues, the federal government should take a hands-off approach to the shale exploration, contending that regulation of the industry is best handled by the states. “Ohio has one of the best safety track records and it just stands to reason if we can keep the federal regulators out of the way, we’ll see Ohio continue to be at the epicenter for this oil and natural gas opportunity that’s coming to America,” he said.
The congressman, who said he is “very active with the Chesapeakes and MarkWests” and others in making the case that these need to be permanent jobs for Ohio and not just “drive-bys,” said he hasn’t heard much from oil and gas companies regarding Gov. John Kasich’s proposal to increase taxes on drillers.
“I think the oil and gas companies are serious about making this an Ohio opportunity and they’re going to be okay with that,” he said.
During their brief meeting in Halleck’s office, the commissioner told Johnson that the Obama Administration’s position on the Canadian Keystone XL pipeline project is “mindboggling” to him.
“We’re still fighting that issue,” Johnson said, pointing out that gas prices have doubled since President Obama took office. “It makes absolutely no sense to disapprove a project like the Keystone XL pipeline that could have a very near-term positive impact not only on jobs but on the price of gas at the pumps.” He noted the administration had approved a similar pipeline that runs from Alberta, Canada, down to Wisconsin in 2009. That pipeline now carries 800 million gallons daily, nearly double what it was intended to.
The GOP officeholders also criticized the administration’s efforts to reform health care through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Businesses are concerned over the “uncertainty” of how it will be applied to them, Halleck said. “I think that a lot of people have not hired in recent years because of that,” he remarked.
“Uncertainty is the biggest negative impact to small businesses right now,” Johnson agreed. “Sixty percent of America’s jobs come from small businesses, and over 40% of America’s businesses are saying that the health care law is the main reason they’re not able to grow and expand their businesses.”
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.