[vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The following post is an email from Brian Traweek, Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 255, to Bill desRosiers after a rig tour this past weekend.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Boy Scouts of America Troops 255 and 99, from Scranton and Montrose, want to thank you and Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation for the outstanding field tour Cabot provided to our troops on Saturday, September 29, 2012 in Susquehanna County.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]In the midst of all of the economic uncertainty in the country that these Boy Scouts are hearing about every day, Cabot provided a first-hand example and experience for the boys, demonstrating that there is a very bright future available for those who will work for it, and there are positive days ahead for the country as a whole.  The feeling we all have after the tour is that we are now at the beginning of something very important and game-changing for the country.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The development of shale gas reserves can provide the United States with energy independence, and the boys saw first-hand that if they apply themselves in school, they can have solid and good-paying jobs in the natural gas industry.  They can be welders or rig hands if they learn a trade; they can be well-tenderers if they go through a 2-year technical school program; and they can be environmentalists who directly care for the environment in support of natural gas operations if they obtain a 4-year degree at a university.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_single_image css_animation=”” image=”1732″ border_color=”” img_link_large=”” link=”http://cabotsusq.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/boy-scouts.jpg” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]As we were on our tour bus driving around Susquehanna County, we noticed the freshly paved roads around Dimock and Springville, the new houses on many properties, and the new trucks and farming equipment that were parked in front of many new barns and homes in the area.  We know that this lifestyle has come from the value of the energy that is produced right here.  The community has obviously benefited greatly from Cabot’s presence here.  It’s obvious everywhere you look.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]We approached an active drill site and noticed that green grass was growing in the fields all around the pad.  We noticed the silt socks, silt fences, the water control ditches alongside roadways, and the pad itself, all carefully designed and constructed in a workmanlike manner, and pristine in appearance.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The boys were fascinated by the workings on the pad.  Men and women in hardhats and coveralls were at work while the rig was pulling drill steel out of the hole.  Some of the workers were washing the rig down even while it was operating, keeping it clean.  We talked about the annual wages of these various employees on the rig that day, and the boys (and their parents) were very impressed with the solid jobs that have been made available by Cabot Oil & Gas.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Later we visited a completed well site.  We noticed how small the completed site was, perhaps 100 foot square, and how that small footprint is able to make good use of all of the shale gas available from a surrounding square mile.  It was quiet at the well.  In fact there was nothing on the surface to indicate to us that each day a volume of gas equal to all of the gas that Cabot produces in all of West Virginia daily was being produced right there where we were.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Finally, when we got back to the field office, we popped the hood on a large pickup and the boys got to see how the truck had been converted to run on natural gas.  Some of the brighter people standing around did some math and we figured out that it costs about 1/3 to 1/2 as much per mile to drive around on natural gas than it does on gasoline.  Somebody needs to build out natural gas refueling stations so we can operate our cars and trucks on natural gas![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]We have added a permanent picture of the tour on our wall, and the boys will remember it for the rest of their lives.  Thanks for a world-class tour and first-hand proof of the bright future that lies ahead for these Boy Scouts, and for America.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Sincerely,[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Brian Traweek  –  Scoutmaster, Troop 255  –  Scranton, Pennsylvania[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]