Gas drilling business webinar

First in five-part series

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA — About 40 Wayne County business people attended the first of a five-part webinar on business opportunities that may be created by gas drilling in Pennsylvania.

The first seminar, called a webinar because it is presented on the world-wide web, gave an overall picture of what those possibilities may be as gas drilling companies spread their activity across the state.

In a simultaneous interactive video presentation, Tim Kelsey, an economics professor at Penn State University, discussed the various ways that businesses could capitalize on the new industry trend and answered questions from 20 audiences that were tied into the webinar.

In Wayne, the event was sponsored by Wayne Economic Development Corporation (WEDCO), the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and Workforce Wayne.

For over an hour, Kelsey presented the results of his research from gas-drilling activities in other parts of the country, like the drilling in the Texas Barnett Shale formation and similar drilling activity in Louisiana. He also shared with the audience some of the experiences learned by gas drillers and people who signed leases in western Pennsylvania.

One area that is affected when gas drillers enter an area is housing. The workers who arrive from other parts of the country need a place to live and there are often housing shortages. Another place where there may be opportunities is in the food sector, including catering companies.

His main emphasis was on the economic development that was occurring now and could occur in the future. He briefly touched on some of the environmental issues that may arise, such as habitat fragmentation, disturbance of plants and animal habitats, and community matters such as water, roads, housing needs, culture conflicts and environmental impacts.

In a question-and-answer period, it was not clear whether environmental issues would be discussed in depth at the remaining four sessions. “Our emphasis is on economic development and not on the environment,” said Mary Beth Wood, WEDCO executive director.

The next session will be held on October 21 at 9:30 a.m. at the same location and will be presented by two representatives of Fortuna Gas Company who will go into greater depths about how local businesses can gain from the drilling.

The October 28 session will explore success stories of business opportunities, November 4 will focus on preparing for business success and November 10 will explore how businesses can work with others. The sessions are held at the Wayne County Park Street complex beginning at 9:30 a.m.