NATCHEZ — A company county officials said is a major player in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale development has signed an agreement to purchase four acres in the Natchez-Adams County Port and could invest between $2 and $5 million in the area.

The Adams County Board of Supervisors voted Thursday to enter into an agreement with the company, which Natchez Inc. Executive Director Chandler Russ said would likely create 20 jobs in connection with the property.

The vote came after an executive session meeting of the supervisors, the Natchez-Adams County Port Commission, Russ and Natchez Inc. Chairwoman Sue Stedman.

The exact details of the agreement cannot be discussed at this time because the county and economic development officials are under a confidentiality agreement, Russ said, but an official announcement should be made in 30 to 60 days.

“This company is looking to establish a presence and footprint in the port area for the movement of their liquids in and out of the TMS,” Russ said. “We expect that to continue to grow and expand over the course of the play.

“We are really excited about the opportunity and the establishment of this facility, and applaud the economic development effort between Natchez Inc., the county and the port commission on their efforts.”

Russ said the company purchasing the port property is publicly traded and does not want to make any announcements until some remaining details are worked out in order to avoid misleading investors.

Adams County board attorney Scott Slover said the company could invest between $2 and $5 million in the area.

The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale is a marine-deposited shale formation in southwest Mississippi and central Louisiana. It has been the source bed for the Tuscaloosa oil sands that have been drilled in Mississippi for decades, but until recent years the migrating clays associated with the shale have limited its drilling.

Newer technologies have since opened the possibility of tapping directly into the shale.

“One of the jobs of the supervisors is to increase our industrial base, because having a strong base of industrial jobs is going to make the county have an economic upswing,” Slover said. “I think we are on the way up already, and this will help us.”

Slover said the agreement would generate revenue for the county and for the Natchez-Adams School District.

Supervisor Mike Lazarus said the agreement came with a reverter clause requiring that if the company did not develop the site in three years the land would revert with the county and the county would be allowed to keep the funds generated from the sale.

“This is a win for Adams County,” Lazarus said. “It is a start for what is coming with the TMS. When this thing kicks off, a lot is going to come here.”