Washington County, PA (southwestern part of the state) brought in $560 million in new investment, along with 725 new jobs, in 2018. The vast majority of that new investment is tied directly or indirectly to the Marcellus Shale industry.
The Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Washington County Commissioners held their annual economic development conference yesterday. Little known fact: Washington County is the #2 natural gas producing county in PA. (Susquehanna County in northeast PA is #1.) The Marcellus industry is everywhere you look in Washington–drilling, pipelines, processing plants. It’s all there.
Washington, a southwestern suburb of Pittsburgh, really is in the catbird seat. Plenty of room for businesses related to shale, and plenty of room for new housing/residential growth as a bedroom community for Pittsburgh.
Here’s a report on yesterday’s good economic news for Washington County:
Washington County’s economy continues to boom, with companies bringing in $560 million in investment and 725 jobs created or retained during 2018.
That data comes from the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Washington County Commissioners, who held the annual economic-development conference Thursday. Chamber CEO Jeff Kotula and Washington-based Community Bank CEO Patrick O’Brien hailed the strength of the county’s economy that is bolstered by several sectors, most notably energy.
A number of the region’s 2018 economic headlines had to do with the natural gas industry, where Washington County is a solid No. 2 in natural gas production statewide and grew in double-digits last year. It also saw solid growth in the energy services sector beyond the actual drilling:
- Steel Nation moved its headquarters to Cecil Township near Southpointe
- Nine Energy Service broke ground on a new office at Alta Vista Business Park
- Bestway Oilfield expanded at Starpointe Business Park
- Kenco Logistics opened a distribution center for Shell Lubricants, also at Starpointe
- Praetorian Energy Solutions, a pumping services provider based at Southpointe and working in multiple basins
“Washington County is recognized as an energy leader and as a premier location for energy and energy-related companies to invest and create jobs,” Commission Chairman Larry Maggi said.
But it isn’t just energy: Several manufacturing-related expansions also contributed to Washington County’s strength, said Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan. That included a 342,000-square-foot manufacturing and office building by Ensinger Inc. in North Strabane, expansions by Trigon Holdings and Perryman, and a $16 million expansion by Corelle Brands at its plant in Charleroi.
“They are not only creating quality, family-sustaining jobs and investing in new plants but also building our county’s future,” Irey Vaughan said.
Irey Vaughan said that the energy industry’s growth has helped Washington County’s population, 207,820 in 2010, to stabilize and grow. She said there was $314 million invested in the residential real estate sector in recent years with 897 lots developed over the past 16 months alone.
“Washington County’s future for residential development is extremely bright,” she said.
The optimism for the energy industry was also shared by Nathan Snyder, SVP of investments at Janney Montgomery Scott. He said the combination of low-cost natural gas production and the pipelines to take the gas to market has significantly increased Marcellus Shale gas from Pennsylvania.
“Our area is going to be the growth engine for the nation’s energy independence going forward,” Snyder said.
Honored at the event were Mary J. Stollar, SVP of economic development at the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, and Kotula. Stollar was recognized for her work on economic development as she is about to retire. Kotula was honored by the commission on the anniversary of his 20 years at the head of the chamber.*
*Pittsburgh (PA) Business Times (Mar 28, 2019) – Washington County gains $560M of economic investment in 2018
This post appeared first on Marcellus Drilling News.