Talisman Energy, the Canadian parent company of
Fortuna Energy in Big Flats, plans to open an office in Pittsburgh that will focus on the company's growing Marcellus Shale drilling operations in Pennsylvania.
Fortuna spokesman Mark Scheuerman said some of the jobs at the Fortuna office will be transferred to the Pittsburgh office, which will be called Talisman USA.
But he also said the Big Flats office will remain open to handle the company's extensive land holdings in New York
and monitor the gas production from its Trenton-Black River wells.
"Talisman Energy is going to establish a U.S. office in Pittsburgh and that's the extent of what's been determined," Scheuerman said Monday afternoon.
"We see it as recognition of the commitment to Marcellus Shale by our parent company.
How it goes forward will take a year to work itself out. There will be some transition of jobs, but that will be determined at a later date. This is not a wholesale shutdown of the (Daniel Zenker Drive) office.
"Marcellus Shale is a multi-state operation and there are opportunities in New York and Pennsylvania," he said. "We have had great success
early on and this was seen as the right way to go in order to coordinate all of the North American operations that are focused on Marcellus Shale."
In March 2003, Fortuna became active in the Trenton-Black River natural gas scene when Talisman, based in Calgary, Alberta, spent $310 million for drilling rights to 420,000 acres in Schuyler, Chemung and Steuben counties.
The following year, Fortuna more than doubled its land leases by paying $65 million to acquire the rights to an additional 475,000 acres in the Southern Tier, Ohio, West Virginia and northern Pennsylvania.
Flush with the success of its Trenton-Black River program -- 75 producing wells have been drilled into the formation so far -- Fortuna moved into a new $4.5 million 30,000-square-foot headquarters at Airport Corporate Park earlier this year.
The project was partially financed by a $500,000 investment by
Fortuna, a $250,000 Empire State Development loan and a low-interest $1.12 million loan from the Chemung County Industrial Development Association.
A total of 88 employees work in the Big Flats building, which is owned by Riverside Realty.
"(The developer) received mortgage tax abatement and a sales tax abatement for the construction. Fortuna has been eligible for the Empire Zone benefits for a while and will continue to receive them because they created more jobs than was projected," said George Miner, president of Southern Tier Economic Growth.
He also predicted that despite the new Pittsburgh office, Fortuna would maintain "a good-sized labor force" at the Big Flats location.
"The gas industry is strong," he said. "We are seeing a lot more activity over the last few months. (Fortuna) has made a substantial investment here. They signed a 10-year lease with Riverside Realty and that's what gives me the optimism.
