Natural Gas Market Blamed for Shutdown
Baker Hughes Victim of Current Conditions in the Industry
MACKEYVILLE — A spokesperson at Baker Hughes headquarters in Houston has confirmed a record-online report earlier today that the company has closed its three-year-old facility in the Clinton County Economic Partnership Business Park in Lamar Township.
“Challenging market conditions” were cited behind the shutdown which occurred in recent days with no formal announcement to the community. The company offered no word on what the future might be for the ultra-modern site, the main building locked up and hundreds of pieces of gas field equipment behind locked chain-link fencing.
A Baker Hughes spokesperson said the concern was with the employees affected by the shutdown as she released this statement:
“As Baker Hughes continues to adapt to challenging market conditions, we are taking difficult actions to reduce costs companywide, including closing or consolidating facilities. Employees at these locations may be eligible for redeployment. As we take these steps, we are committed to making sure that all employees are treated fairly and that impacted employees are eligible for continuing benefits and severance packages, when possible. The company remains focused on its employees, safety and customers.”
Asked to comment, Mike Flanagan, Partnership chief operating officer, called the shutdown not a surprise:
“Unfortunately, this news was not unexpected but it’s still hard on the employees and their families. With the oversupply of gas and the low cost, the industry has been hit hard over the last year or so, and was somewhat a victim of its own success. We are not sure what the future may hold for the fairly new facility, but we will keep close tabs on the expected purchase of Baker Hughes by Halliburton.”
Sources tell therecord-online only a few maintenance workers remain at the site and the last day was Wednesday for Baker Hughes’ district manager Phil Urlacher. Urlacher had been brought into central Pennsylvania from his previous position at a Baker Hughes facility in the western part of the state and oversaw construction of the Lamar Township facility which saw a November 2012 open house followed by a startup that winter.
Baker Hughes had paid the CCEP $2.25 million for the 37-acre site in 2012. The facility later employed over 200 people but a year ago was affected by the downtown in the price of natural gas and curtailed natural gas exploration/development. In March of 2015 35 local employees were let go and another 90 transferred to Clarksburg, WV.
The Baker Hughes company remains involved in a buyout from oil industry giant Halliburton Company. That $34.6 billion transaction had first been announced in December of 2014 but has not yet received clearance from federal regulatory agencies.
