MONACA – The Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research will be offering a one-day course on Marcellus Shale and opportunities for economic development on Feb. 28 at Penn State Beaver in Monaca.
“Shale Economic Development and Utilization Opportunities” will take place from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Lodge in the Penn State Beaver campus Student Union Building, 100 University Dr., with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. The course content will be useful to business people and community members in a number of fields including business owners, environmental consultants, project planners, engineers, economic development planners, government officials and attorneys.
The course instructors, Jim Ladlee, associate director of MCOR, and Matt Henderson, MCOR’s shale gas asset manager, have extensive experience on economic development issues related to the development of Marcellus Shale gas. Topics will include the region and country’s energy portfolio, shale trends, business opportunities, ethane crackers, ethylene uses and transporting natural gas.
“The course will be a great opportunity for business owners who are interested in meeting the demands of the growing shale industry or expanding on their existing business to find out about upcoming trends and the best ways to respond to them,” Henderson said.
Henderson helps coordinate and deliver educational programs on the economic impacts of gas development and sudden wealth. He has chaired two business-to-business oil and gas expos, helping connect industry with local businesses. He has also developed programs that help business owners understand and enter the natural gas industry.
Ladlee is director of special initiatives for the Shale Training and Education Center, a collaboration between Penn State Extension and the Pennsylvania College of Technology, and managing director of the Oil and Gas Leaders Institute for the Appalachian Basin. He has extensive experience teaching classes about the economics of shale development, the logistics of drilling and complying with environmental regulations. His research has focused on the workforce requirements development of the shale formation is bringing, what types of labor pool and training will be needed, land use trends in drilling, industry best management practices and the economic impact of shale development.
The course has been approved for Professional Development Hours and Continuing Education. The cost is $329 for early registration by Feb. 20 and $379 after that. The fee includes course materials. Registration information is available online at the MCOR Web site, www.marcellus.psu.edu, by clicking on the link for “Shale Economic Development and Utilization Opportunities.”