BP chief executive Bob Dudley, on a visit to Cleveland Friday morning, said the quiet beginning could mushroom into something huge. “Who would have thought, 20 years ago, we would be re-investing in (energy) production in Ohio,” Dudley told a gathering of business and civic leaders at the InterContinental Hotel on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic. “Really, we made a new and exciting investment.”
In March, the global energy giant announced it had secured mineral rights to more than 80,000 acres in Trumbull County, surrounding Warren. This morning, Dudley said exploring and testing will soon commence and that BP expects to begin drilling next year.
Moments after his presentation, he told The Plain Dealer he anticipates the operation to result in new jobs and a new corporate presence for London-based BP, which gained its first American foothold in Cleveland a generation ago.
Much will depend upon what seismic surveys and test wells detect in the ancient shale beds, he added. “We’ve got to do the exploring and unlock it,” Dudley said. If BP finds liquid natural gases, as it expects, “the number of jobs will really begin to take off, certainly in the thousands,” he said. “Not just drilling jobs. Jobs in finance, accounting, leasing.”
The jobs and gas production remain a subject of speculation, Dudley said during his speech. But BP is excited about the potential of Ohio’s shale gas, he said, and so is he. “In 2009, I was skeptical of the shale revolution,” said Dudley, a Chicago native and BP’s first American-born CEO. “I’m now convinced the U.S. has enormous reserves of natural gas.” He said energy companies will be coming to Ohio for its natural gas liquids, especially ethane, the feedstock for plastics. “It will enable all kinds of industry,” he said. “The reason I like the Utica shale is because dry gas is becoming uneconomic because prices are so low. People are looking for formations with liquid and that’s what I like about the formations in Ohio. That’s why I’m excited about it. It’s going to take some time to find out.”
Dudley appeared as part of the Business Leaders Series of the City Club of Cleveland. He flew in from Houston and is on his way to Columbus to meet the governor.
Associated Press file
