The Oil & Gas industry is witnessing a tremendous rebirth across the United States as enormous amounts of previously unreachable reservoirs are being developed using new extraction techniques. The buzz surrounding the Bakken, Barnett, Eagle Ford and Marcellus shale developments and the Permian, Western Gulf and Williston basin developments have established the plays as household names.
The shortage of housing that comes with a boom of this magnitude, especially in the western plains region extending from Texas to Wyoming where infrastructure is less developed, creates opportunities for secondary industries. One such industry experiencing a renaissance is the modular building industry with a product well suited to meet the oil and gas workforce housing needs.
Just as the oil industry had to discover new techniques to engage its current growth the modular building industry has transformed over the years. The Oil Boom 2.0 finds a mature modular building industry, energy-efficient building designs and lean manufacturing processes ready to meet the boom’s housing demands. Workers have grown to expect experiences more in line with hotel accommodations than the more spartan man camps of yesteryear, and the new generation of modular man camps delivers. For instance, the Goliath Industries workforce housing camp in Pecos, Texas features single and double occupancy residences with private baths, flat panel LED TVs, WiFi, full service dining, state-of-the-art workout area, recreation room, laundry service and daily housekeeping.
“Modular buildings are the perfect solution to meeting the housing needs in these regions”, says John Martin, the President at Palomar Modular Buildings. “We can deliver pre-manufactured buildings quicker and more economically than site-built construction. The solution isn’t limited to just man camps, we are actively engaged with clients building man camps, hotels and multi-family housing solutions from Texas to North Dakota. We can deliver housing that a client can set on a temporary foundation, and as needs change they can move the housing to another location. The same advantages that make modular buildings beneficial for man camps come into play when building hotels and apartment housing. As Henry Ford demonstrated to great effect, the power of the production line lies in manufacturing a product with a controlled set of variables. When our manufacturing facility gets into gear with a man camp, hotel or multi-family project with iterative units, that’s when they really shine.”
Workforce housing providers, enterprising hoteliers and multi-family housing developers partnered with modular building manufacturers are well on the way to alleviating the oil & gas industries housing shortage.