PITTSBURGH — Consol Energy on Tuesday released details of its plan to drill for natural gas at the Pittsburgh International Airport, a deal officials hope will yield hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties.

The company said that it hopes to begin constructing well sites and pipelines in the spring of 2014, and drilling later in the year. Consol plans to use six well pads to drill a total of 47 Marcellus Shale wells spread out over roughly 9,000 acres of airport land. The company hopes to have the first wells producing gas by 2015.

“This project represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to generate significant economic benefits for the residents of Allegheny County,” Consol President Nicholas J. DeIuliis said in a statement.

There may be benefits for the airport and the region, but residents who live near the proposed drilling sites expressed concern at a public meeting held Tuesday at a nearby hotel.

“We hope for the best, but have to prepare for the worst,” said John Walters of Imperial.