Chesapeake Gives Oil and Natural Gas
Technology Program Wheels
Chesapeake demonstrated its support of the future oil and natural gas industry work force on August 19 through the donation of a 2007 Ford F-150 truck, formerly of Chesapeake’s work fleet, to Panola College.
Chesapeake handed over the keys to the vehicle, which will be used in the Oil and Natural Gas Technology Program, a four-semester program designed to fill a work force need by preparing students for careers in the oil and gas industry. The donated vehicle will transport equipment between the program’s two locations, drive students to oil and natural gas wellsites and act as a recruiting tool.
Students enrolled in the program follow a curriculum created in cooperation with representatives from the oil and natural gas industry and receive hands-on technical training. Students also have the option to receive training at the Shelby Regional Training Center in Center or Panola College's main campus in Carthage, said Joe Shannon, Panola College’s Dean of Instruction.
"We are thrilled to not only have the support of Chesapeake as a member of the Oil and Natural Gas Technology Program's advisory board, but also through the donation of this vehicle," said Shannon. "With the use of the truck, the program will be allowed to bring real-world technology back to the campuses and expand the program’s reach to the Carthage, Texas, campus. Chesapeake stepped up, and we are so appreciative for their help."
Panola College's Oil and Natural Gas Technology Program is a four-semester program of study in which upon completion students earn an Associate of Applied Science degree. The program has grown to include 150 students, with 75 new students enrolled for the upcoming fall semester.
Haynesville Employees Show Their Blue
Chesapeake employees and subsidiaries donate volunteer hours
to help rebuild sections of a local Boy Scout Camp.
As summer temperatures reach new heights, Chesapeake employees are just getting warmed up with the 2010 Operation Blue community initiative. Through Labor Day, Haynesville employees from all departments and subsidiaries are working together to rebuild portions of the Northwest Louisiana Council of Boy Scouts’ Garland Scout Ranch in DeSoto Parish.
More than 100 employees from Chesapeake, Nomac Drilling and other subsidiaries braved the heat to lend a hand. The first two work sessions included refurbishing piers, trenching for electrical lines, painting bungalows and general beautification.
Operation Blue is a result of an overwhelming employee response received from last summer’s 20,000 Hours campaign, which resulted in more than 26,000 hours of volunteer time donated by employees to the communities in which the company operates.
To view more Haynesville Operation Blue photos, visit facebook.com/Chesapeake.
Chesapeake Employees Go to Summer Camp
Counselors and campers invited Chesapeake Haynesville
employees to play games and help with arts and crafts
at MedCamps of Louisiana.
At MedCamps of Louisiana, a summer camp for children living with disabilities, Chesapeake employees put manpower behind the company’s monetary sponsorship and acted as team captains for the MedCamps version of "Minute to Win It." More than 20 cerebral palsy campers participated in a modified version of the NBC game show which features simple, yet competitive, challenges using everyday household items. Challenges included pulling all the tissues from a tissue box and wrapping camp counselors in toilet paper.
"Children battling physical and mental disabilities are often excluded from traditional childhood activities because they have special needs, but with MedCamps and the people and corporations which support it, children with disabilities will no longer be left out. We thank Chesapeake and its employees for giving of their resources for such a worthy cause," said Caleb Seney, MedCamps of Louisiana’s Executive Director.
View photos of the competitions and other fun games at facebook.com/Chesapeake.
Chesapeake Building New Conditioning Facility
Chesapeake’s North DeSoto Central Facility will be capable of
removing impurities from up to 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas
per day before the gas is used by consumers.
Before the abundance of natural gas in the Haynesville can be delivered to a stovetop or water heater, it must first be conditioned. Natural gas conditioning involves treating the gas to remove impurities, such as carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide, and dehydrating the gas in order to deliver a pipeline-quality product that can be used as fuel by residential, commercial and industrial consumers.
In response to the high levels of natural gas being produced by Chesapeake in the Haynesville, Chesapeake recently completed the first phase of a $50 million endeavor called the North DeSoto Central Facility. The facility, located off of Louisiana Highway 175, east of Interstate 49 in DeSoto Parish, is expected to grow as production volumes increase. Total investment at the site is expected to be more than $70 million by the end of 2010. Chesapeake’s facility is built to handle up to 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Currently, the facility has a capacity of about 300 million cubic feet per day.
The North DeSoto Central Facility is a sign of Chesapeake’s ongoing investment in the Haynesville Shale. Like all Chesapeake properties, the North DeSoto Central Facility contributes to the community by generating property taxes that help our local communities improve the quality of life for Haynesville citizens.
Sales tax collections hit new heights in DeSoto
By Vickie Welborn, Shreveport Times
July 8, 2010
MANSFIELD — Sales and use taxes collected over the past fiscal year in DeSoto Parish didn't quite reach the high end of the commission director's prediction of $87.6 million made two months ago. But no one is quibbling that the number fell short by only a few million dollars since overall collections have reached heights never before attained in the parish.
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20100708/NEWS01/7080329/1060
The Haynesville Shale
Chesapeake is most proud of the Haynesville Shale because it was discovered by the company’s own geoscientists and engineers. More than twice the core area size and holding more gas in place per square mile than the Barnett Shale, the Haynesville Shale is anticipated to become the largest natural gas-producing field in the U.S. by 2015.