Lackawanna College, an accredited private nonprofit institution with a main campus in Scranton, Pa., and five other schools and centers across the state, "took a leap," in its president's words, when it established its School of Petroleum & Natural Gas (SPNG) in 2009.
Five years later, it received the largest single private donation in its history when Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. announced a $2.5 million gift to directly fund Lackawanna's SPNG in New Milford, Pa., on Apr. 14.
"Our partnership with Cabot enhances tremendously the ability of the [SPNG] to provide a world-class education designed to prepare a ready workforce that fits the needs of the multiple companies across the industry," Lackawanna Pres. Mark Volk said at the time.
"Beyond just an investment in Lackawanna College, through this collaborative effort, Cabot is making an investment in our students and our community," he added.
The partnership extends beyond a small college and one of the larger US independent producers. Both major and local suppliers of goods and services in northern Pennsylvania's portion of the huge Marcellus shale tight gas formation, along with other producers, have come aboard to provide equipment and hands-on opportunities at the college's oil and gas training center.
A possible template
The result is a program that also might provide a template for similar efforts across the US as unconventional oil and gas production brings the industry into states and communities where it previously has not been active, speakers said at a May 16 ceremony at the school recognizing Cabot's contribution.
"We needed a curriculum in place to respond to an exceptional opportunity," Volk said at the event. "Our industry partners have helped make it not just a regional, but a national model. Our graduates can work internationally if they want. But the best part is that many of them want to stay here."
Cabot Chief Executive Officer Dan O. Dinges, who also attended, said the Houston-based independent in turn recognizes how the Lackawanna SPNG provides a partnership so people who want to join the oil and gas industry, as they see the opportunities it provides, have a place to learn. "We think the safety aspect that's come into this school is as important as the technical aspect," he observed.
Cabot has spent more than $2 billion so far on its Susquehanna County holdings, Dinges said, adding, "We expect to be here awhile."
The partnership helps connect local governments and residents with the industry, America's Natural Gas Alliance Pres. Martin J. Durbin agreed. "It's also important to connect what's happening here to the broader national conversation," he said. "Communities like this are making good things happen, and realizing significant benefits."
What SPNG offers
Lackawanna College's SPNG offers 2-year associate of science degrees in four areas: oil and gas technology, gas compression technology, oil and gas measurement, and oil and gas business administration. More than 70% of its graduates go to work for larger independents, pipelines, and service and supply companies, the school said. Its total job placement rate is 90%.
Early conversations with companies in the industry led the college to develop a curriculum that combines on-campus laboratory and equipment experience with academic, fundamental, general, and petroleum engineering courses. The school aggressively sought industry professionals as its faculty.
"We combine hands-on experience with the physics and technical science associated with compression technology," Ray McDonald, who directs that program with 10 students at the New Milford center, told OGJ. "A lot of industry coming to this area speaks its own language, so our students need to learn it." Each of the four study areas has an oil and gas technology introductory course in its first semester.
Many also have been out of school for years and need to refresh their knowledge or learn basic skills, according to SPNG Executive Director Richard Marquardt. Business communication, effective speaking, and social science courses are scattered among more specialized classes, he said. Companies working in the area also offer internships, he noted.
McDonald said SPNG also originally offered a certification program for local residents with nighttime classes so they can continue working. He said he would like to see it reactivated.
Impacts beyond campus
Others at the May 16 event at SPNG's campus were enthusiastic about its offerings. Brian Cochardo, a Pennsylvania native who came back after retiring from a career at a major home improvement retailer's headquarters, works in the school's compression, electronics, and computer labs.
But he's also excited about the broader economic growth that unconventional gas resource development has brought to the region. "Many other people forget the other businesses," he told OGJ. "Lots of workers need $130 safety shoes, for example."
Alan Zosh, who worked at a US Army depot for 12 years, learned about measurements there, but decided to study compression at SPNG "because I wanted something different." He said, "We've seen equipment up close most people see only in pictures." He was looking forward to a field trip to Dresser Industries, which he had heard was developing some new equipment models.
Larger national companies weren't the only ones present at the May 16 event. Borton-Lawson, a Wilkes-Barre engineering and architecture firm, announced there that it was donating consulting services to provide a 3D model and design for SPNG's proposed full-scale, state-of-the-art measurement lab.
"We are honored to be part of this exciting partnership," Borton-Lawson Chief Executive Officer Christopher Borton said. "We hope to help Lackawanna's [SPNG] fulfill its vision of becoming a nationally recognized, first-in-class program in the field of petroleum and natural gas technology."
