Energy and Ukraine Topic of Meeting Attended by Shale Crescent USA and NAI Spring in Washington DC

Bryce Custer, SIOR with NAI Spring and Jerry James, President of Artex Oil Co. Represented Shale Crescent USA in Washington DC with European Countries

CANTON, OHIO, USA, August 24, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Romania, like its European siblings, has been held hostage by Russia in terms of natural gas supply since before the Russian Bear formally invaded Ukraine six months ago. Which is why when various parties were planning the recently-held American Energy Security & International Trade Summit in Washington D.C., an invitation to attend went out to the world’s third-largest natural gas producer.

Said request to attend was not directed to a country’s representatives, was not a producer. It was Shale Crescent USA, the nonprofit, volunteer organization established to tout the resources in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, certainly including the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays, to entice manufacturing back to the region.

Many of the roughly 50 invited attendees to the Summit already were aware of the Shale Crescent region but wanted to know more – above and beyond natural gas production.

“Europe already was having problems securing and paying for natural gas prior to Russia invading Ukraine, but that development pushed the price differential between the U.S. and Europe to 10-to-1, and that ignited us getting together at the Summit, according to Jerry James, President of Ohio-based Artex Oil Co.

James is more than President of privately-held, Ohio-based conventional natural gas producer Artex. He also serves on the Executive Committee of Shale Crescent USA, and is one of the organization’s unpaid volunteers who is prepared to tout the advantages/benefits of doing business with and in the region to anyone, anywhere.

James and Crescent USA board member Bryce Custer, SIOR with NAI Spring Commercial Realty and Ohio River Corridor, LLC who specializes in energy-related projects, went to D.C. in June to meet with European development stakeholders.

The evening before the meeting, the Romanian Ambassador to the U.S., Andrei Muraru, held a private reception for special guests. Even he was aware of at least one-third of the Crescent, according to James.

“The Romanian ambassador was very familiar with Ohio; there is a large contingent of Romanians who live in the Cleveland area,” James said.

“The reception guests were very interested in discussing our region for diversification of manufacturing and import/export of raw materials due to European supply chain constraints.” according to Custer.

Among meeting attendees were ROMGAZ SA, Romania’s largest gas producer and distributor, ANRE, Romania’s energy regulator, and Romanian electric utility COMOTI.

Among the countries with representatives were Moldova, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Latvia.

While many attendees were aware of the Crescent region, they were not cognizant of the vast natural resources the region contains.

No. 1 obviously is natural gas. The three-state Shale Crescent area, if separated from the rest of the U.S., would be the world’s third-largest gas producer, trailing only Russia and the rest of America.

In addition, the Crescent is the top U.S. natural gas producing basin, the No. 1 natural gas producer, the No. 1 natural gas liquids producer, and current accounts for roughly 32% of total U.S. gas production. By 2040, the percentage is projected to reach 45% of total U.S. gas production, according to IHS Markit data.

But there are numerous advantages to setting up facilities within the Crescent, James and Custer were eager to tell attendees.

“No other area in the U.S. has the business opportunities the Shale Crescent offers companies,” according to Custer.

Those advantages, in addition to what is among the lowest priced, most abundant gas in the world, include water for both transportation and processing, a skilled and abundant work force, and proximity to market demand (the case certainly for the petrochemical industry), sharply lowering the cost of transporting both raw materials and finished products.

The Shale Crescent also has better weather, when compared to the country’s Gulf Coast, more conducive to non-stop product production. Stop and think when was the last time operations of any kind were halted in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia due to a hurricane?

“It’s not just oil and gas availability that sets us apart,” Custer said. “This area also could be a center for new technologies, like micro (nuclear) reactors. We must look at all opportunities to bring new jobs to the region.”

While Custer admitted the introductions had a primary purpose of “sewing seeds” which, hopefully, will grow into new businesses/new jobs, James said presentations on behalf of the Shale Crescent will hopefully lead to investments and additional prosperity in the tri-state region.

Bryce A Custer
Ohio River Corridor, LLC
+1 3304189287
bryce@ohiorivercorridor.com
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