Fort Stockton picks up jobs

In January, while Odessa, Midland and the rest of the Permian Basin were losing hundreds of jobs, one area city actually saw jobs created. And it hopes to see more in the future.

Around 750 construction workers are currently on site about 30 miles south of Fort Stockton, where the Century Plant is being built, said Matt Grubb, chief operating officer for SandRidge Energy. Oklahoma City-based SandRidge is partnering with Occidental Petroleum on the $1.2 billion plant.

"Everything’s going fine," Grubb said.

Grubb said the first phase of the plant should be online around August, with more construction continuing after that. Oxy will extract carbon dioxide from natural gas wells SandRidge drills in the Piñon Field in Pecos County. Oxy will then use the CO2 for enhanced oil recovery in the area.

And in order to supply the gas, SandRidge has to pick up drilling. It’s gone from four drilling rigs in the Piñon Field to 12.

"We’ve ramped up a little bit," Grubb said.

SandRidge is contractually obligated to supply gas for the plant, which means it will continue drilling in the area. Doug May, Fort Stockton economic development director, said SandRidge plans to have 18 rigs in the area over the next couple years, and 10 to 15 for the foreseeable future after that.

And all that is good for the economy in Fort Stockton, May said. All told, the area is up to 18 rigs, which has brought in between 500 and 600 jobs.

"We have some construction projects and some oilfield service companies that have started hiring back," May said.

The improvement has been reflected in Pecos County’s unemployment rate. Unemployment reached a high of 12.2 percent in July 2009, but has dropped back to 8.4 percent in January. While that is still above the 5.4 percent unemployment there in July 2008, it is now below Odessa’s jobless rate of 9.2 percent.

In a town of around 7,800, hundreds of jobs can have a major impact, May said.

"It doesn’t take a jillion jobs to make a difference on our unemployment rate," he said.

While some of the new jobs have gone to people from out of town, May said between 300 and 400 went to local residents. And even the non-locals can benefit the economy.

"They’re spending money in the hotels and restaurants," he said.

Alex Patel, owner of the Super 8 Motel in Fort Stockton, said he’s noticed some pickup in business in recent months.

"They’re building that plant out there," he said. "That helps a little bit."

The city is also changing its approach at luring tourists to town, said May, who also took on the title of head of Fort Stockton’s tourism department in October.

Fort Stockton recently commissioned Jal, N.M., artist Brain Norwood to produce two sculptures, similar to "The Trail Ahead," a 400-foot long silhouette sculpture Norwood build out of 10-by-40-foot sheets of quarter-inch steel near his hometown.

The Fort Stockton works will be in two separate locations off Interstate 10. One, on the east end of town, will feature a group of cavalry soldiers, while, a sculpture on the west end of Fort Stockton will have a small hunting party of Comanche Indians. May said the sculptures are up, and all that needs to go in now are signs featuring the city’s name.

It’s all part of an effort to diversify the city’s economy. May is hopeful that the Century Pliant construction, which is expected to take until late 2011, will serve as a "bridge" between the slowdown in oil and gas drilling and an anticipated pickup in wind and solar energy construction once new transmission capacity is added over the next few years.

"We’re fortunate," May said. "We’re very lucky."