Gas well service company won’t talk about its layoffs
FTS International, a provider of well-completion services to oil and gas companies working in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, apparently reduced its workforce locally, but isn’t saying how many people were affected.
On Friday, there were reports the company was closing its operations in Eighty Four and Venetia, but the company said Monday both facilities are open.
An FTS International official who refused to give his name Friday at the company’s Eighty Four facility said he could neither confirm nor deny that the company furloughed workers. He referred questions to the company’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.
An equipment operator at the Eighty Four site who also declined to be identified said he heard about layoffs Friday but did not know how many workers were affected.
He said layoffs occurred there in the fall, as well.
“FTS International has not closed our operations in Eighty Four and Venetia, Pa.,” said FTSI spokeswoman Karen Testa in an e-mail Monday.
“Like many other companies in the oil and gas industry, we have been responding to challenging market conditions, and we continue to analyze how that impacts our business,” Testa wrote.
“Due to the prolonged downturn, FTSI has experienced a change in demand as customers adjust their plans. Unfortunately, a change in demand forces companies like ours to adjust our employee headcount to align with customer needs.”
Her message did not state how many employees had been laid off.
According to its website, FTS International is the largest private well-completion company in North America.
The company provides customized hydraulic fracturing solutions to enhance drillers’ recovery rates from oil and gas wells, primarily in unconventional plays such as those in the Marcellus and Utica shales.
In May 2012, FTS cut the ribbon on a 50,000-square-foot complex in North Strabane Township.
At the time, it had 340 employees working out of the new site, which includes offices, warehouse and maintenance space, a lab and a rail offloading facility on the 26-acre site along Route 519.
Staff writer Karen Zapf contributed to this report.