Ohio Sees More Recovery

To date there is not a producing gas well in Ohio's Marcellus shale formation but that doesn't mean Ohio has not already begun to feel just a tiny bit more prosperous. Pennsylvania, which got into the boom early, drilled 1242 gas wells from January through August of this year. Each well uses thousand of feet of seamless pipe. To keep with the increasing demand French steel maker Vallourec has elected to build a new $650 million mill were the people who know how to make steel live, Youngstown. The plant is already under construction and will employ about 350 permanent workers when its complete. Vallourec cited three reasons why Youngstown was chosen. It had an experienced work force, there was already a heavy rail infrastructure in place and its relative close proximity to its customers. Elsewhere in the Mahoning valley, near tiny Columbiana, Chesapeake Energy Corp has begun leasing drilling rights.