Gas Driller Builds Dorms for Workers in Bradford Co.
Washington PA Observer Reporter
19 November 2010
SAYRE - When Chesapeake Energy Corp. began ramping up its natural gas
drilling operations in northern Pennsylvania two years ago, it quickly
realized the rural region lacked a sufficient number of apartments and
hotel rooms to handle the sudden influx of out-of-state workers.
So the Oklahoma City-based driller built a $7 million residential
complex and training center that company officials hope will help ease
the housing crunch.
Chesapeake held an open house Thursday at its campus in Athens
Township, Bradford County, along the New York state line. The low-slung
dormitories can hold about 280 workers, and the fenced complex includes
a cafeteria, recreation center and laundry facilities.
Workers moved in last week. It's believed to be the first of its kind
in Pennsylvania.
"At a certain point, it became very difficult to find places for
employees to live," said Brian Grove, senior director of corporate
development. "This will take some of the pressure off the local housing
market."
A drilling boom in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania has led
to housing shortages, skyrocketing rents, and reduced landlord
participation in the Section 8 voucher program. One-bedroom apartments
now rent for $900, while three-bedroom houses can fetch more than
$2,000 - double what the federal government considers to be fair-market
rent in the area of small towns and farms.
Housing advocates say lower-income people have been priced out.
"There's just not a lot out there at the lower end," said Liz Hersh,
executive director of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania. "For people
who aren't making the bigger bucks, they are getting pushed out of the
market because there's just not quite enough supply."
Chesapeake, the most active driller in the Marcellus, has grown from a
few dozen workers and a single drilling rig in Pennsylvania to 1,100
employees and 21 active rigs. More than half its workers come from
out-of-state, though Chesapeake is also aggressively hiring and
training local residents for the physically demanding but lucrative rig
jobs.
Each rig worker, or roughneck, follows a schedule of 14 days on, 14
days off. Chesapeake's new dormitories are available for on-duty
workers only; typically, out-of-state roughnecks fly home when they are
off.
But Grove said there's an incentive for local workers to stay at the
dorms, too: They don't have to cook, clean or do laundry.
There's no chance that workers will forget where they are. Comforters,
pillowcases, towel sets and wall clocks are imprinted with "Nomac" -
the Chesapeake unit that drills in the Marcellus - while framed posters
show drilling scenes and pennants say "S.A.F.E. (Stay Accident Free
Everyday) Drilling."