Operating Engineer - Fall 2014

Our Work: Energy
Natural Gas Boom Brings Work Up and Down the Line
OVER THE LAST DECADE, natural
gas production in the United States has
redefined the term “boom times” and
Operating Engineers have been among
the beneficiaries, as skilled hands have
been in high demand. During this
period, the center of the natural gas
universe has been the Marcellus shale,
which lies beneath the states of Ohio,
West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New
York.
Marcellus is the largest shale gas
play In North America, accounting
for close to one-fifth of the country’s
total gas production. It is is estimated
to hold about 141 trillion cubic feet
of technically recoverable natural gas
reserves. The play’s proximity to highdemand
markets on the East Coast
makes it attractive to gas producers,
since it enables lower transportation
costs.
Production from the Marcellus has
been soaring, growing from less than
2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in
2007 to about 16 bcf/d currently, and
production could rise to as much as 20
bcf/d by 2020.
As production has grown, so
have job opportunities for Operating
Engineers within all phases of the
production stream. Upstream jobs –
site preparation, well pad construction,
drilling and reclamation – have been a
steady source of work for Operating
Engineers within the Marcellus region.
Midstream and downstream work
– particularly pipeline construction –
have also brought new opportunities to
Operating Engineer members, helping
to overcome the decline in other
construction sectors caused by the
recent recession.
The expansion of this valuable
domestic resource is now producing a
steady flow of jobs even further down
the production stream. One of these
projects, a new $1.3 billion dollar
power generating plant – fueled by
the abundant, low-cost, clean burning
natural gas coming out of the Marcellus
shale – is putting Local 147 Operating
Engineers back in the seat after some
pretty lean years.
“It has been many years since
Local 147 had a big job such as this,”
says Business Manager Darold Kemp,
referring to the Brunswick County
Power Station being built by Dominion
Virginia Power in rural southern
Virginia.
The 1,360-megawatt natural gas
power station will serve a growing
customer demand in the state, as
well as replace electricity from two
aging coal-fired power stations that
are being retired for economic and
environmental reasons.
Construction began in September
2013, and the project is currently
on budget and on schedule to be
generating electricity by the summer
of 2016, according to Dominion. The
utility awarded the overall design and
construction contract to Fluor, who
brought in National Steel Erection,
Inc. based out of Kentucky. NSE is the
only subcontractor utilizing skilled
union labor and has fifteen Local 147
Operating Engineers working on site.
The combined-cycle power station
will use natural gas to fire three
combustion turbines – essentially
super-sized jet engines – to generate
about 810 megawatts. The heated air
from the combustion turbines will be
captured and used to create steam that
will spin another turbine to produce
about 550 megawatts. To accomplish
this, it will have the largest air-cooled
condenser of its type ever erected in
the United States. The station’s total
output of 1,360 megawatts can provide
electricity for about 340,000 homes.
[above] L to R: (three on front row) Mike Kowalski, Business Agent; Ray Rhode, job Steward
and crane operator; Mike Dock, NSE Superintendent (four on second row) Travis Conner,
crane operator; J.W. Wright, crane operator; Jerry Conner, Business Agent; James Dodd Jr.
apprentice (five on third row) Bobby Falkner, crane operator; Gerald Simpson, Training Director;
Shawn Treadwell, apprentice; Chris Giles, crane operator; Tim Morgan, apprentice
(Eight on back row) Randy Sisco, crane operator; John Dunavant, crane operator; Lee Freeman,
crane operator; Trey Freeman, apprentice; James Dodd, crane operator; Timmy Giles,
forklift operator; Dave Michl, NSE Project Manager; Zachery Freeman, crane operator.
[photo] JDarold S. Kemp, Business Manager, Local 147
An investment on this scale
generates a lot of tax dollars in addition
to jobs. An estimated $824 million in
new economic activity statewide and
a 45 percent increase to the county’s
general property tax revenues means
stronger schools and improved
services where Operating Engineers
live and work.
In addition, the extension of the
gas pipeline to serve this power station
offers the promise of even more work
for members of Operating Engineers
Local 147 in the future.
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
FALL 2014 9