Shale Jobs are being created daily in the Marcellus shale zone- areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Maryland is now on track for future job creation as a direst result of the state's Marcellus shale deposit.
The Marcellus shale is a deposit of shale rock, in places over a mile beneath the earth's surface. The shale is impregnated with natural gas.
Recently, modern drilling techniques were developed to mine the gas, safely and economically. Hydraulic-fracturing or "fracking" is an effective drilling method to acquire the gas.
Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping high-pressure water into a gas well that has been drilled vertically and then horizontally. The result is a hole that extends for a great distance parallel to the surface of the earth.
The water carries enough pressure to open up crack in the shale along the horizontal span of the well. As the cracks open, pockets of natural gas are released into the well.
The hydraulic fracturing technique has come under much scrutiny from activists and environmental groups as a danger to ground water. The method requires the use of thousands of gallons of chemically treated water that becomes a byproduct of shale drilling.
Drilling companies face stiff penalties for spills and the improper disposal and treatment of waste-water. Modern reclamation and treatment methods are in place to minimize any impact on the environment.
A recent Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Hagerstown Maryland, Drew Cobbs who is the executive director of the Maryland Petroleum council estimated that Western Maryland could add 2,000 jobs from shale drilling in the state as reported in a July 11, 2012 article in the (Hagerstown) Herald Mail.
Cobbs was reported in the article to say that an estimated $300 million could be added to the local economy as a result of drilling in Western Maryland. Only 1% of the Marcellus Shale is contained within the state of Maryland.
New shale jobs in other areas in the Marcellus zone has been have not only been created by drilling companies themselves. Secondary industries like transportation and trucking, equipment supply and repair, engineering and land management services are adding jobs as well.
Service industries that cater to the influx of workers, hotels and food service are gaining. Environmental and safety jobs are being added as well.
The potential of the Marcellus Shale formation is still not fully realized. Shale drilling in Maryland and the other states in the Marcellus zone has opened employment opportunities as well as other economic growth in fields that serve the natural gas drilling industry. The natural gas drilling industry is on of the bright spots as far as job growth during the lingering economic downturn.
For more information on Marcellus shale jobs go to http://www.gasandshalejobs.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peyton_Soutel
http://EzineArticles.com/?Maryland-Eyes-Potential-In-Marcellus-Shale-Jobs&id=7172998
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