The Marcellus Formation stretches across the Appalachian basin in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.


Joints, or cracks, in the shale have occurred from natural gas pressure over time. Dr. Terry Engelder, Penn State professor of geosciences and a leading authority on the shale, likes to compare cracks in the shale to craquelure—the fine pattern of cracks formed in old paintings. In the old masters, cracks in the paint form from tension over long periods.


Engelder says that while the shale has been a producer of natural gas for years, gas can be more readily accessed using the relatively new technology of horizontal drilling, rather than traditional vertical wells. According to a recent study by the new Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center, the industry will drill up to approximately 500 wells in the north central and northeast regions per year by 2013.

Marcellus Shale photos by Terry Engelder

It may be too soon to tell how the Marcellus Formation and its potential for huge amounts of natural gas reserves play out in the Commonwealth, but there’s no denying that the shale discovery has already had a positive impact on Pennsylvanians.

Residents in poor, rural areas of Appalachia who own oil and gas rights suddenly have money after striking deals with gas companies. And, according to a recent study conducted by the new Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center (MSETC)—an effort of Penn State Extension and Pennsylvania College of Technology—the industry will bring thousands of new job opportunities.

"The shale will have the biggest effect on the Pennsylvania economy since the lumber era more than 100 years ago," said State Sen. Gene Yaw, who represents Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Union counties—where there has been heavy land leasing, permitting and drilling activity.

The shale, located in Appalachia, has been a producer of natural gas for years, with the first wells appearing in the 1880s. But until 2008, it had been identified as holding a relatively small amount of potential reserves. Penn State has been involved in many educational efforts and initiatives—including an annual natural gas summit held in November—surrounding the Marcellus Shale since the discovery it could hold up to 363 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Focus on Workforce Training

According to a recent workforce needs assessment conducted by the MSETC, up to about 2,000 direct, full-time jobs could be required in the Northern Tier (Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming counties) by the end of this year; that number of jobs is expected to grow to about 5,400 by 2013.

Headquartered at Penn College, the MSETC aims to serve as a central resource for workforce development and community education needs for the industry. The MSETC conducted the assessment through a series of meetings and surveys with industry representatives and started to offer courses and training this fall, based on that assessment.

"Workforce development and training issues are critical to the success or failure of the industry," said Larry Michael, executive director of Workforce and Economic Development at Penn College. He added that the combination of Penn College’s technical training and Extension’s community programming has been well received by the industry.

Yaw, a proponent of the center, added: "We need to be ahead of the curve and train the local workforce, so that industry workers are hired from the citizenry of Pennsylvania."