‘Concrete’ proof of gas development impact

MONTGOMERY - A proposed cement plant in Clinton Township is concrete proof that developing natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale region will produce jobs for local residents.

So said local officials Monday during a groundbreaking ceremony kicking off the construction of a gas drilling support complex in the River Valley Commerce Park in Clinton Township.

The complex will be built and operated by global oil and gas industry support company Halliburton.

The facility will produce concrete specifically for the gas drilling industry and could generate up to 300 jobs, according to company officials.

"Right now, we're looking at doing it in a phased approach," Wolf Pabst, North America real estate manager for Halliburton's real estate service, said of the project.

The project, estimated to cost between $10 million and $12 million, will include a concrete plant, warehouse, offices and truck wash and maintenance bays built over two phases, Pabst said.

A sand plant may be built as part of a third phase, but that depends on gas industry demand, he said.

Pabst said 70 to 80 percent of the jobs generated by the facility will be local hires.

"We'll have to bring some people in to train the local workers," he said.

Perry Harris, the company's northeast district manager, said Halliburton found the site appealing because of its proximity to the Marcellus Shale, the availability of local workers and the fact that they needed a significant amount of land on which to build.

"We feel like it is a good location," he said.

Harris said there will be some unskilled laborers hired, but added there will be a great need for Department of Transportation-certified drivers. The company will train certified drivers, he said.

The company bought the property for $450,000 from the Industrial Properties Corp., a real estate development authority administered by the Chamber of Commerce, said Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce executive vice president Jason Fink.

The parcel, which formerly was a strawberry field, was the last available parcel in the commerce park, Fink said.

Fink said one of the things that appealed to the company was the fact that it is a Keystone Opportunity Zone, a designation that provides relief from state, municipal, county and school taxes through 2011. An application has been submitted to the state to extend the designation beyond 2011, Fink said.

According to Harris, the company employs 50,000 people world-wide.

Ron Shuman, U.S. southern region vice president, said the company, which has two other facilities in the state, provides a full range of support services that covers all aspects of natural gas development, including drilling, hydrofracturing and site completion.

Shuman said the company has been in Pennsylvania for 55 years and "intends to be a good corporate citizen" in Lycoming County.

County Commissioner Rebecca Burke said the fact that Halliburton is committing millions of dollars to build a facility here "demonstrates the industry is alive and well and will create the positive economic impacts that all residents of Lycoming County can benefit from."

Burke said the construction phase of the project alone will provide jobs for local contractors.

According to Chamber president Vincent Matteo, of all the gas-related companies that have done business in Lycoming County, Halliburton is the largest and most well-known.

"Obviously, they're here for the long term," Matteo said.