There's been a lot of hypothesizing about the future of the natural gas industry in our region, given the relative leveling off of activity this year.
Well, Shell Oil is in the process of buying the Pennsylvania College of Technology's North Campus building in Charleston Township, Tioga County.
The building will be turned into offices for about 100 people moving from Shell's other locations around the county. Shell's leadership for this region will be at the building.
That hardly sounds like an energy company getting ready to pull up stakes.
Meanwhile, Penn College is transitioning from the 35.2-acre North Campus property to something that better fits its needs. That's a win-win situation, with no plans to reduce class offerings at its new location.
Many of the country's largest energy organizations have a presence in the region. They've set the table in recent years for energy production that will span generations, not years.
There will be trends in the natural gas industry that will create an ebb and flow to activity, to be sure. But these companies aren't successful because they spent millions of dollars developing energy sources, only to pick up and leave a year or two later.
The industry will have a major economic impact on our region for a long time. And Penn College will remain a thriving education entity in the Northern Tier.
