From Green Hat to Lead Hand and a Six-Figure Income

The companies powering America’s shale revolution truly “rock”

The male students of the CNX Foundation Mentorship Academy convened this past Friday at Deep Well Services’ training headquarters in beautiful Zelienople, Pa., to learn about a career in the oil and natural gas field services industry. Joining our host Deep Well was Evolution Well Services, the premier and most innovative completions company in the natural gas industry.

The leadership of both host companies invested their time throughout the day presenting and showing what a career in oil and natural gas field services looks like.

When I say the leadership, I mean the leadership. Deep Well CEO Mark Marmo, VP of Business Development John Sabo, and their wider leadership team participated through the day, continuously engaging the students. The Evolution team, led by Northeast Regional Manager Ryan McCann, exuded enthusiasm about their jobs and America’s energy industry that was impossible to miss. Spending the day with true leaders like these makes you extremely proud of our energy industry.

Students rotated across four hands-on modules, tours, and talks to get a better feel for the industry culture and the type of work encountered in these professions. What was special was having instructors covering topics and professions they know because they live it every day.

The compensation is, in a word, unrivaled.

An individual coming out of high school can start as a ‘green hat’ making $19/hour, enjoying a 401k savings plan, having health insurance, and receiving a $50 per diem to cover food expenses while working on the road.

Within 90 days, and with the focus to achieve proficiency with a checklist of on-the-job skills, the individual can progress from ‘green hat’ to ‘roughneck,’ where the pay increases substantially. With further skill progression, in a short period of time the ‘roughneck’ can achieve ‘lead hand’ status, where the all-in compensation levels are around the $100,000 level. None of it requiring a college degree; instead, what is required is a good work ethic, the ability to perform as part of a team, and the grit to keep at it and continually improve.

This was a full and busy day that offered three major takeaways:

First, the students are getting more engaged with hosts and topics as the Academy progresses. Lots of questions this week. I think we will see more than a few life careers determined over the course of this first Academy year. I sense a lot of the careers will be earning family-sustaining wages—providing financial independence and limitless opportunity.

Second, there are some stellar companies and leaders of those companies in western Pennsylvania that are too under-the-radar. Deep Well Services is a massive regional success story that should be trumpeted from the western Pennsylvania hilltops. Evolution Well Services is innovating completions and natural gas extraction to the point where no other energy source can compete with natural gas on an environmental basis (including much over-hyped wind and solar). Why don’t regional media, political leaders, and institutions make a bigger deal of these foundational pillars of our economy and quality of life?

Finally, American energy, its leading companies like Deep Well and Evolution, and its leaders rock. I was thoroughly convinced of that before this past week; but it’s always inspirational to see your convictions confirmed.

The Mentorship Academy is an initiative of CNX Foundation and part of CNX’s commitment to investing in its local community. Designed for high school students who do not plan to immediately attend a four-year college, the Academy is focused on providing urban and rural youth from economically disadvantaged regional Appalachian communities with greater opportunities—helping provide these young adults a bridge to family-sustaining careers. Following the mentorship program, students will have developed new relationships with peers and business leaders across western Pennsylvania, a new excitement for the region’s career opportunities and an understanding of how to pursue those careers.

Post Gazette: Two Pittsburgh CEOs make their very different pitches for why the world needs more gas

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Anya Litvak covered Nick DeIuliis’ speech at the 2021 Developing Unconventional Gas (DUG) East Conference.

“Mr. DeIuliis, who spoke from the podium at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center as a slideshow of his quotes and tweets cycled on screens behind him, hasn’t been shy about ‘the left’s campaign to destroy America.’ That’s also the subtitle of his upcoming book, ‘The Precipice,’ and a recurring theme on his personal website and his weekly podcast,” writes Litvak. “He believes that, for various reasons, there are people vilifying the natural gas industry, hyping carbon reductions and rooting for the demise of everyone in the room.

“According to Mr. DeIuliis, people who are under attack and don’t even realize it include: the people of Appalachia, specifically small-business owners, the middle class, and those living in poor urban and rural areas; and people in the energy industry — ‘the real energy industry in natural gas and midstream, not the make-believe energy industry of so-called renewables and subsidy and zero-carbon mythology.’

“And those attacking them are companies that profit from efforts to ‘tackle climate change,’ politicians who need to fill holes in budgets, and the zealots who want to eradicate the industry.”

Click here to read the full article.

Business Times: CNX CEO suggests reworking of 10-year-old Impact Fee

Pittsburgh Business Times reporter Paul Gough covered Nick DeIuliis’ speech at the 2021 Developing Unconventional Gas (DUG) East Conference.

“CNX Resources Corp. CEO Nick DeIuliis, a voice for the development of Appalachian shale and industry in the Pittsburgh region, on Tuesday suggested a reworking of Pennsylvania’s impact fee that takes into account the changed nature of the region’s oil and gas industry and, when coupled with support for the industry’s growth, could be beneficial to everyone involved,” writes Gough.

He goes on to discuss Nick’s assertion that it’s time Pennsylvania revisits its impact fee, “it’s time for a refresh,” said Nick during his DUG East keynote address.

“DeIuliis made it clear he isn’t looking for the elimination of the impact fee. Nor does he think that a change should solely benefit natural gas producers,” writes Gough. “He believes that politicians, policymakers and others can work with the industry to build something that will benefit everyone.”

Gough quotes Nick’s comments, that, “If you allow the demand for natural gas to grow under the free market, under its own backs and the science behind it, and you update the impact (fee), severance fee, whatever you want to call it, to reflect the industry in 2022 and beyond, I think there’s a way where revenue grows.”

Click here to read the full article.

Hart Energy: CNX Resources recognized with 2021 Energy ESG Top Performers Award

CNX Resources was recognized with a 2021 Energy ESG Top Performers Award in the public E&P category by Hart Energy.

Hart profiles CNX environmental accomplishments:

“CNX Resources is net carbon negative for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

“In 2021, CNX completed water line infrastructure enabling it to recycle 99% of produced water in its core operational area while eliminating more than 65,000 of water trucks from the road annually.

“In 2020, CNX had zero hydrocarbon spills.

“In 2018, CNX became the first operator in the Appalachian Basin to employ an electric frac fleet, which utilizes its natural gas from nearby wells to power its entire hydraulic fracturing fleet, virtually eliminating the need for diesel fuel and its lengthy supply chain. This also reduces noise levels and physical footprint while improving worker safety. CNX now uses electric fracking exclusively and has begun employing similar natural gas-to-electric power on its midstream compressor stations. CNX’s newest midstream station is powered entirely by natural gas converted to electricity on site.

“CNX continually performs wildlife surveys and confers with environmental consultants to avoid wildlife disturbance. CNX funds conservation efforts and species research and monitoring to minimize impact to wildlife.”

Click here to learn more, including details on CNX societal and governance achievements.

Training Tomorrow’s Worker to Run Western PA’s Petrochemical Industry

Last week, the CNX Foundation Mentorship Academy spent two days at Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) alongside personnel from Shell to discuss career opportunities in the petrochemical industry. Petrochemicals are a massive and growing part of western Pennsylvania’s economy, anchored in part by Shell’s cracker facility that’s nearing completion after four years and billions of dollars invested in its construction.

The Shell cracker plant will take ethane produced in this region by the oil and gas industry and convert it into polyethylene, a polymer product used in virtually everything and by everyone.

Petrochemicals are yet another example of how carbon and its products drive quality of life, jobs, energy security, and strategic positioning of our nation.

The virtuous circle is powerful: the region’s natural gas industry, feeding the petrochemical plant, producing polyethylene pellets to feed downstream manufacturing plants that make carbon-based products, and those products being used in the food, medical, manufacturing, automotive, and construction industries. The stuff that drives regions, nations, and the world.

This amazing economic engine will not properly function without a pool of talented and trained workers. That’s where the faculty at CCBC come into the picture.

During our visits, Dean Goberish and the professors in the process technology school provided a series of lectures and hands-on exercises to allow Academy students to experience the skills and teamwork needed for success in a range of industrial career paths. Whether it was wiring a motor power center or building a scale model as part of a construction project team, these hands-on exercises did an incredible job of facilitating learning by doing.

Our two days at CCBC and with Shell also provided an interesting observation: Academy-participating students embrace a healthy mix of competitive drive and teamwork. During each exercise, the young men and women quickly adapted to work as a team while pushing each other to get a project successfully completed on time (and ahead of their competition on the other team). That’s the stuff that will serve an individual well, no matter what career path he or she embarks upon.

I would be remiss to not mention how incredibly impactful our regional community colleges are. CCBC and Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) are two institutions this region desperately needs. They are also two organizations who never lost sight of their fiduciary duty and mission. Higher education could learn a lot from these two stellar entities. Spending time with either CCBC or CCAC is time well spent, and the Mentorship Academy plans on doing more of that in the future.

Next up for the Academy is a busy December to close out 2021. In addition to site visits and events, we will start developing the professional profile of each student: building a resume, conducting mock interviews, and constructing a social media profile for career pursuits. The goal is to have each student exit the program next summer with a portfolio they can use to secure a job and start on a career.

Thanksgiving is an opportunity for reflection and gratitude. This Turkey Day has me thinking about the Mentorship Academy.

The Mentorship Academy is an initiative of CNX Foundation and part of CNX’s commitment to investing in its local community. Designed for high school students who do not plan to immediately attend a four-year college, the Academy is focused on providing urban and rural youth from economically disadvantaged regional Appalachian communities with greater opportunities—helping provide these young adults a bridge to family-sustaining careers. Following the mentorship program, students will have developed new relationships with peers and business leaders across western Pennsylvania, a new excitement for the region’s career opportunities and an understanding of how to pursue those careers.