clearlyahead.com

EQT is a gas company operating locally in the Marcellus Shale.  They are hosting a seminar aimed at well site education and 1st responder awareness.  This event is open to the public and anyone interested is welcome to attend.  For details, click on the link below:

EQT Awareness Presentation Mahaffey Dec 11 2012

Owning and operating any business is not without its challenges; the grain processing and ethanol production industry is no exception.  Bionol Clearfield, LLC succumbed to those challenges on July 20, 2011 when the company filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.  A Michigan-based company with over 16 years experience processing grains and producing ethanol is hoping to overcome those challenges and succeed where Bionol failed.

On April 20, 2012, Pennsylvania Grain Processing (PGP), LLC was approved as the buyer of the Clearfield grain processing facility.  PGP is an affiliate of Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. (ZFS), a 60 year old, diversified agricultural and transportation company headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan.  ZFS has been processing grains and producing ethanol for 16 years, owning and operating plants in both Michigan and Nebraska.  Between the two locations, ZFS employs a workforce of over 200.  ZFS plans to use their prior experience and expertise from these two facilities to turn the existing Clearfield operation, which will be the third and largest ethanol producing plant in their portfolio, into a successful business venture.

With the reopening of the facility, there remains a positive impact potential from ancillary companies looking to utilize the facility’s multiple products, such as distiller grains, carbon dioxide, and ethanol.  Additional impacts on local industries such as rail and trucking may also take place as the company redesigns the transportation plan of raw materials and finished products to and from the plant.  Executives from Zeeland Farm Services have been in Clearfield over the past two weeks, becoming familiar with the plant, previous employees, and acquainted with the community.  It is the intent of ZFS to make a constructive impact on the local community and create a favorable business environment.

The plant intends to be fully operational by the end of Summer.  You can learn more about PGP and Zeeland Farm Services by visiting their website:  www.zfsinc.com

An exploration & production company operating in the Marcellus region is so confident that unconventional gas development won’t harm local waterways that they donated $750,000 to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission to install real-time water quality monitoring equipment in area waterways.   Before East Resources was bought out by Royal Dutch Shell in the summer of 2011, they provided funding to set up a remote water quality monitoring network in the Susquehanna River Basin where they were operating.  You can read more about East Resource’s donation here.  There are currently three monitoring stations located in Clearfield County (Moose Creek, Trout Run, Little Clearfield Creek).  If you are interested in viewing real-time data about any of these locations or others located in the Susquehanna River Basin, you can visit this site.

If you are interested in knowing how many rigs are operating in the state or county at any given time, Baker Hughes issues a weekly rig count with location information.  You can find out more information from their interactive rig count website located here.

The construction of the CCEDC’s Energy Complex is now complete. The new building is located in the Clearfield County Alliance Park and has five tenant spaces available for lease. It has 10-ton overhead crane capacity; 22 foot ceilings, 14-foot bay doors and a full sprinkler system. Secured fencing surrounds the property which sits within three miles of Interstate 80 Exit 120 as well as near Routes 322, 219 and 119. The official ribbon cutting for the Energy Complex was held on September 22, 2011 with over 100 people in attendance.

Guest speaker Judith Herschell, president of Herschell Environmental of Pittsburgh, was the keynote for the event. Herchell Environmental is an engineering firm that specializes in design and planning related to hydrological issues in the gas and oil industry. Ms. Herschell discussed statistics related with the gas and oil industry, she said that by 2014 there would be 19,000 new direct jobs due to Marcellus Shale and 88,000 new jobs from indirect businesses working with the Marcellus Shale Industry. Ms. Herschell stated the Marcellus Shale Industry out-produced their estimated production for last year despite drilling only 1,400 of the 1,700 planned wells.  Pennsylvania is now responsible for 18 percent of the worlds natural gas with predictions that those numbers could increase to 45 percent over the next few years. Ms. Herschell talked about using resources such as CareerLink and local vocational technical schools to get the workers trained.

The CCEDC would like to thank Buster’s Sports Bar for the delicious food and the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging for the use of their PA System. To view more photos of the Afterhours Ribbon Cutting visit the CCEDC Facebook Page.

On August 12th at the EOG: B2B Network Day, the CCEDC officially launched its new real estate website: www.rigmonkeyapp.com.

The website features over 70 commercial and industrial properties in Clearfield County geared towards the unconventional gas industry.  Listings can be searched by property type, building size, and location.  Users can then view property specifications, pictures, the location of the property, as well as direct contact information for the seller.

Another desirable feature of RigMonkeyApp.com is the “supermap”, which displays all listings on an interactive google map. In addition, a Rig Monkey application is currently being developed for the iPhone and Android platforms.

It’s no secret that Pennsylvania has an abundance of municipalities within its
borders: 2,566 to be exact. Of those municipalities, 51 lie within the borders
of Clearfield County. For an industry that spans many different municipalities,
such as the unconventional gas industry, it can be extremely difficult to keep
track of the different ordinances and regulations in each one.

The CCEDC is closing in on completion of its Clearfield County Municipal Regulations
Database. With a phone call to our office, a company can find out if a
municipality has an ordinance applicable to the oil & gas industry. If so,
the details of the ordinance will be available along with municipal contact
information. We feel this database is a valuable tool in assisting the
development of the unconventional gas industry in Clearfield County.

The Clearfield County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC) announced, during the Clearfield Borough Zoning Committee public meeting, the expansion of Carrizo Marcellus, LLC in to the newly created Market Square facility in Downtown Clearfield.

The new Carrizo office will be located at 2 East Market Street (the site of the former Uni-Mart Convenience Store) along the riverfront. “Carrizo Marcellus, LLC is proud to be expanding its presence in central Pennsylvania by announcing the opening of a much larger and more visible office later this summer in Clearfield,” stated Richard Smith, Vice President-Land, for Carrizo. “The additional space will be utilized to support Carrizo’s plans for a highly increased drilling program beginning later in 2011,” stated Smith.

Interior plans were submitted to Clearfield Borough for review and consideration of the office project that will house 15 full time jobs in a newly renovated 3,040 square foot suite. Rob Swales, CEO, CCEDC expressed, “This site was optimal in Carrizo’s site selection search. It was critical for Carrizo to have a presence in proximity to the downtown’s professional service business cluster of legal, government office and other professional service companies.”

In recent weeks, the community has witnessed a sudden transformation of the former Uni-Mart facility into what will become a dynamic commercial site for commerce along downtown Clearfield’s riverfront. Future plans for the site this summer include façade improvements and paving of the parking lot. Most notably, the CCEDC recently removed the fuel service bay and underground storage tanks in partnership with US EPA and PA DEP to clean up the site in an effort to begin a process of revitalizing Clearfield’s riverfront.

The CCEDC has been incorporated since 1999.  The group has worked actively over the past twelve years to grow and expand the business community, create and retain family sustaining jobs and increase the economic tax base of Clearfield County.  Most recently, the CCEDC has been taking a pro-business approach to Alternative Fuel industries and has worked to begin transforming Clearfield County into the Energy Hub of Pennsylvania.  Assisting Carrizo Marcellus, LLC in expanding their businesses endeavors in Downtown Clearfield is only the beginning of the role the CCEDC will be playing in other Unconventional Gas initiatives over the next several years.

Forum Energy Technologies is a manufacturer of processing & drilling equipment for the natural gas industry.  They located to Clearfield at the Fireman’s Industrial Park on Oct. 2, 2010.  They occupy the former Marathon Equipment building.  Forum employs 17 local people at the current time with plans for over 100 local employees within two years. 

Additionally, Wood Flowline Products and Select Energy Services also operate out of the former Marathon Equipment building employing local people.

Horizontal Well Drillers are located at 7350 Coal Hill Road in Luthersburg and specialize in meeting the drilling needs of the gas industry.  They moved to the area 6 months ago and have been experiencing rapid growth ever since.  Plans for the near future include quadrupling the size of their facility to accomodate the current demand.  

They employ 30 local employees and are currently accepting applications.  Applying is as simple as walking into their office and filling out an application.  HWD offers a customized training program on one of their active drill rigs to bring the employee up to speed with the skills necessary to succeed in their organization.

Activity in the Marcellus Shale is creating jobs for Pennsylvanians all across the state.  Below are just a few of the companies that recently located close to home and are providing employment for our local residents.

Shortfuse Gasfield Trucking LLC was created in Feb. 2010 and began servicing the industry in July 2010.  Shortfuse is a total water management firm located in Bigler, PA.  They can assist companies with water procurement, transport, treatment, and anything in between.  They are striving to help meet the gas industries water needs from start to finish or in other words “from river to river.”  Shortfuse’s truck fleet consists of 13 trucks which results in 21 employees.  Plans for the 2^nd quarter of 2011 include increasing the fleet to 25 trucks and employing as many as 50 local people.

Spenergy Well Services LLC was created in 2006 to serve the needs of the gas industry.  They are located in Bigler, PA.  With the nature of the work Spenergy performs being seasonal, they employ between 4 and 18 local people at any one time.

RNI Trucking located to Falls Creek, PA in March of 2009 to serve the transport needs of the Oil & Gas industry.  They employ approximately 95 local people.