Cover Story
Ray Walker
vice president of operations, Range Resources Corp., Marcellus Shale Division
Smart Business Pittsburgh | October 2009
2009 Pacesetters: Large OrganizationRay Walker is not only a visionary and a dynamic leader, but he is a job creator, as well. Since joining Range Resources Corp., Walker has helped to create nearly 1,000 direct jobs related to the natural gas industry in Washington County. Those developments driven by Walker, vice president of operations at Range Resources, Marcellus Shale Division, stimulated the regional economy significantly.
The Marcellus Shale is the largest clean-burning natural gas field in the United States. Range Resources pioneered the Marcellus Shale in 2004, and with Walker at the helm, its breakthrough has driven the largest economic opportunity in Pennsylvania in generations. A recent Penn State economic impact study found that in the last two years, Marcellus development has provided $10.5 billion of economic impact. It’s created more than 43,000 jobs and generated nearly $600 million in state and local tax revenue.
One of the most significant innovations Walker helped to foster is the development of new wastewater recycling and treatment technologies.
He also fostered a partnership between the Marcellus Shale Committee — the nonprofit organization dedicated to the safe and responsible development of natural gas in Pennsylvania where Walker is co-chairman — and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Their efforts helped to improve Pennsylvania’s water resources and environment, while creating new jobs in the region.
Walker empowers managers through positive reinforcement and followership that engages their organization’s work force and that of their business partners.
Walker has been quoted extensively on the positive environmental and economic benefits of natural gas development. Unconventional energy development, like the Marcellus Shale, is changing the ways energy is developed in the United States. These breakthroughs and discoveries have caused known domestic natural gas reserves to increase more than 35 percent in recent years.
Walker played a pioneering role in the advancement of natural gas development from unconventional resources, playing a significant role in the engineering of the first modern shale completion in 1982 in Texas. Since moving to Pennsylvania in 2007, Walker has paved the way for several regional and statewide initiatives aimed toward engaging small businesses and developing Pennsylvania’s work force to meet the needs of the rapidly growing natural gas industry.
How to reach: Range Resources Corp., (724) 743-6700 or www.rangeresources.com
