Williamsport Chamber of Commerce President Vince Matteo sees no reason to be pessimistic about any slow-down in the natural gas drilling in the area.
"Business is still moving forward no matter what level they are drilling," he said. "There is other work going on, and the drilling is coming back."
Sure, some drillers have moved out in the past year for more lucrative wet gas in western Pennsylvania and Ohio.
But there's still plenty of work around here.
In fact, Tom Murphy, co-director of the Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research, said Lycoming County has more gas rigs operating than any place in the state.
Two-thirds of all wells in the state are being drilled in "dry" gas areas such as central and northeastern Pennsylvania.
"With that said, there is a trend toward wet gas," Murphy said. "Companies are looking at shale development on the national, even global basis. So they are looking at Colorado, South Texas, even Canada."
But the wells being operated here, he said, are more productive than ever.
"Some of the best wells in the state are in the northcentral and northeastern part of the state," he said. "We are seeing some high-producing wells in the area."
Matteo noted he recently attended a conference attended by numerous gas industry officials and one of the common refrains he heard was the level of drilling activity in Lycoming County.
And companies connected either directly or indirectly to the gas industry are contacting the chamber about coming here.
"It's not at the former level because many (companies) are already here," he explained. "So I'm optimistic. Is it slower? Yeah. (But) You have gas lines and transmission lines being built."
Added Murphy: "The number of (drilling) permits has slowed. It has slacked off. But it's driven by economics."
