Topeka ? The increased price of energy has produced a drilling surge in Kansas and a worker shortage in the oilfield, experts say.

To get more workers trained, the state has released a $75,000 grant that will be used by Pratt Community College to assist energy companies with the retraining and recertification of up to 450 existing industry workers. “The oilfield has been very busy since 2001 when prices started going up,” said Ed Cross, executive vice president of the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Assn.

In 2005, there were 3,700 drilling permits issued; in 2006, the projection is for 4,500.

The increased activity, Cross said, has resulted in shortages of skilled oilfield workers.

The jobs are good ones, he said, paying from $15 to $20 per hour.

And because the drilling is mostly in rural, western Kansas, “that will help job growth in rural areas,” he said.

The grant funds went from the Kansas Department of Commerce’s work force development division to the Kansas Local Area 1 Workforce Investment Board, which is working with Pratt Community College and the oil and gas association.

Oil companies have been posting record profits, but Caleb Asher, a spokesman for the Kansas Commerce agency, said the release of training funds was needed “to help Kansas community colleges address the industry needs in rural Kansas.

“There is a need for certification right now, and we’re addressing that particular issue, which also helps the state’s work force. That’s why we’re here,” Asher said.

The situation is compounded by standards that require the industry to both certify and re-certify its employees, officials said. Without certification, employees are at risk of losing their jobs, which increases worker shortages, they said.

State coffers also benefit from increased activity, although oil and gas severance taxes make up only a small part of total state tax revenues.

In fiscal year 2000, the state took in $52.9 million in severance taxes. In the 2006 fiscal year, which ended June 30, the state received $133.4 million in severance taxes.