An economic opportunities forum was held Thursday at Deer Ridge Golf Club to discuss Ohio shale development. Several protestors stood at the entrance to the golf club’s drive, but “fracking,” the abbreviated descriptor for hydraulic fracturing, was not at the heart of the discussion. The forum brought together nearly 100 representatives of the Richland and surrounding county business communities to discuss how oil and gas exploration can impact economic growth.
The presentation was sponsored by various county Chambers of Commerce, the Richland County Community Development Group, the Ohio Energy Resource Alliance, and the Ohio Shale Coalition.
“We are here to network and determine how shale play can benefit your business,” said Linda Woggon, executive vice president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. She also introduced Rebecca Heimlich of the American Petroleum Institute, who said, “We’re the association that many Ohio businesses are getting engaged with and exploring how the shale development can benefit their business.”
Rhonda Reda from the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program explained the educational program they offer to schools. She also noted that the oil and gas industry, with 75 different professions involved, has stimulated a need particularly for trade professionals like welders, machinists, and CDL (commercial) drivers.
Reda also provided a mini “Oil and Gas 101” course explaining, “One of the concerns we’re having in the oil and gas industry is the lack of understanding.” She gave a history of gas production, including that oil was first discovered in the U.S. in Ohio in the 1800s. She also described the technology used to extract oil.
“Thirty years ago, over 6,000 wells were drilled in the state of Ohio. Technology is such that it will never demand that much today,” Reda stated.
But the primary information in the days’ presentation was not that Richland County should prepare for well-drilling. The remainder of the discussion was about how local businesses have tapped into that development as a means to grow their businesses. Representatives from three companies shared how oil and gas production is advancing local economic development.
Guests heard from Ron Cochran of Kokosing Construction Company, Hansen Webel of Gorman-Rupp Company, and Bret Lloyd of Ashland Railway.
“The potential was much too great for us to ignore,” said Cochran, “The challenge for us was to enter the market where we had virtually no network of contacts.” Kokosing previously had not been in oil and gas development and Cochran’s message could resonate with other local companies and how they could respond to the industry’s need.
“Kokosing’s response is about delivery,” he said, “We joined the pipeline business with the Integrity pileline business. They were a young company and needed support.” The two companies identified needs for the oil and gas industry and carved a niche for themselves.
Gorman-Rupp sells pumps and the oil and gas industry needs pumps. Hansen also looked at how they could meet industry needs. “Gorman-Rupp produces engine-driven pumps for oil rigs. It’s a booming business. Pumps are also used on drilling rigs to pump mud to lubricate drill bits.” He added, “Pumps are needed to recover, clean, and reuse water after drilling; we’re just starting to play more and more in this [oil and gas development].”
Ashland Railway’s marketing and sales director Bret Lloyd described their success in growing their business. “The key to our success,” he said, “is our service. We can offer on-time, mistake-free service.” And that led them to partner with Richland Shale. Currently Ashland Railway is meeting a need east of Richland County in the Marcellus Shale and product that is shipping to western Canada.
His advice to other businesses that want to grow with the oil and gas industry was to become more knowledgeable about the industry.
“We went to as many seminars as possible,” he explained, “I recommend you do a lot of door-knocking. We’ve even driven to well sites to introduce ourselves and our services.”
Reda explained that oil and gas are not the only energy resources that need to be developed but learning about the industry and responding to industry needs are a means to growing the local economy.
