CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

Big Flats, N.Y.

The nation’s third-largest producer of natural gas wants to build its New York district office in Big Flats.

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy has presented its plans to Chemung County and town officials in hopes of finding a suitable site to build in Big Flats.

“We think this (Big Flats) is really an optimal place,” said Scott Rotruck, the company’s director of corporate development.

The Fortune 500 company currently has a satellite office in Big Flats. The new site would serve as the district office, representing New York and Pennsylvania.

“We have 17 people working there now,” Rotruck said. “We hope to have a lot more.”

Neither Rotruck nor Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli knew how many new jobs would be created, but both said it could be substantial.

“I think this is very positive for the community,” Santulli said. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be another good score for the community.”

The new office will house engineers, technicians, well drillers and many others, Rotruck said. The jobs will be well-paying.

“To me, that’s good news,” Santulli said.

Chesapeake produces gas in many parts of the south and the Appalachian Basin and has 432 wells operating in New York state. With a new office, Rotruck said that number will spike significantly.

“The Appalachian Basin is the oldest area explored for natural gas,” Rotruck said. “It has produced 47 trillion cubic feet ... but only one half of one percent (of wells) have been below 7,500 feet.”

With new technology enabling wells to go much deeper, Rotruck believes there are immense untapped gas reserves locally.

“With new technology, you can do things you couldn’t do before,” he said. “We do 3-D seismic images of the Earth (before we drill) -- it’s like a sonogram of the Earth. That’s a good thing. We have an incredibly good hit rate, and we don’t disturb any land unnecessarily.”

The discussions to build the new district office are in their infant stage, but all parties hope to quickly move plans along.