SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, Pa. — As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalates, so does the concern for energy costs. In his State of the Union address, President Biden spoke on that conflict and how it's affecting inflation and energy.
George Stark is the spokesman for Coterra Energy, which has natural gas wells in Susquehanna County.
"You're seeing all these prices increase because of the volatility. And one way in which you reduce volatility is you increase supply. And we have the supply here. We're blessed with an abundant resource," Stark said.
Stark says some of the natural gas from Susquehanna County is currently sent to Japan. Stark would like to see a new pipeline built to allow some of that gas to be sent to parts of the U.S. that rely on gas from Russia.
"We know that we have more natural gas that we can get out to New England, to the south. So that's what we want to do and reduce the volatility, unleash America's prowess from an energy standpoint, and take people off of Russian energy."
Coterra Energy is already one of the biggest employers in Susquehanna County. The company believes a new pipeline would lead to even more jobs.
"We do it with a whole bunch of other resources. We timber; why don't we do it with energy? Energy is produced here, and those jobs stay here. The paychecks reside here. The families grow here."
There were plans that called for a pipeline to run from Pennsylvania through New York and into New England, but then New York Governor Andrew Cuomo rejected the plan several years ago. Coterra would like the states involved to take another look at that plan.
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