What They’re Saying: “Ever-growing Marcellus Shale industry is and will continue to be a driving force of the local economy”

• AP: “Ohio Shale Drilling Spurs Job Hopes in Rust Belt”: A rare sight in hard-luck Youngstown, a new industrial plant, has generated hope that a surge in oil and natural gas drilling across a multistate region might jump-start a revival in Rust Belt manufacturing. The $650 million V&M Star mill, located along a desolate stretch that once was a showcase for American industry, is to open by year’s end and produce seamless steel pipes for tapping shale formations. It will mean 350 new jobs in Youngstown, a northeast Ohio city that is struggling with 11 percent unemployment. … Industry estimates show the Marcellus boom could offer robust job numbers for 50 years. … U.S. Steel will add 100 jobs with a $100 million upgrade of a plant that makes seamless pipe for the construction, oil-gas exploration and production industries. (Associated Press, 11/27/11)
• Marcellus Multiplier Having a “Driving Force” on Local Economy: The ever-growing Marcellus Shale industry is and will continue to be a driving force of the local economy, according to the president and CEO of the Central PA Chamber of Commerce. Maria Culp said businesses related to the industry have already had an impact on the local economy and will continue to do so. “There were a number of businesses that took advantage of the opportunity to be servicers to the natural gas industry,” Culp said. “There are a lot of examples of company expansions.” … As a result of the expansion to service the natural gas industry, Culp said Bolus’ company has also grown. “He’s gone from 80 people, in the early part of the year, to 160,” Culp said. “Most of it is directly related to those (Marcellus shale-related) operations.” …Culp said the “area of impact” of the shale industry is also continuing to expand. (Standard Journal, 11/26/11)
• Ohio Co. Official: “America Needs American-Made Energy and Jobs”: A new ethane gas pipeline that would come through Licking County would create jobs and help stimulate the economy, county Commissioner Tim Bubb said. “It’s a big construction project,” he said. “It will create jobs. … America needs American-made energy and jobs.” … The proposed Enterprise pipeline is expected to generate as many as 4,000 temporary and full-time jobs along the route as it is being built. … “The bottom line is that we all need energy. Natural gas energy is a safe energy,” Bubb said. “It creates jobs in America.” (Newark Advocate, 11/27/11)
• Most Ohio Residents “Think It’s Important for the Area to Embrace Drilling”: The negativity surrounding oil and gas drilling doesn’t appear to be coming from western Mahoning County. It seems to be coming in the more heavily populated areas, among “city folk” as some residents described it. Most residents, including Harless, think it’s important for the area to embrace drilling. “I think this is needed,” he said, “for American jobs and the economy.” (Youngstown Vindicator, 11/27/11)
• Ohio Mayors: Revive Manufacturing Through Shale Drilling: “For every manufacturing job there are between five and seven ancillary jobs created within the community that support those manufacturing jobs,” said Lorain Mayor Tony Krasienko. His city has a 10.6 percent unemployment rate. Companies are trying to spin off more work from shale development, and every bit will be a plus, according to Youngstown Mayor Charles Sammarone. “I just know this: the money they will spend will help the economy,” he said. (Associated Press, 11/27/11)
• U.S. News & World Report Editor in Chief: Thanks to Shale, “We Have a Chance to Remake Our Energy Future”: America’s soaring natural-gas production has already helped cut our share of oil consumption met by imports to 47% last year from 60% in 2005, according to the Energy Information Administration. The shale-gas revolution, with proper safety practices, can be expected to continue this trend while addressing three longstanding concerns of the energy business: energy scarcity, energy security, and environmental risks. In a word, we have a chance to remake our energy future. (Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, 11/25/11)
• Ohio Small Business Owner: Community Morale “Is All Positive,” Thanks to Shale: At a family-owned tavern in Youngstown managed by Larry Maffitt, the talk is focused on a brighter jobs future. Steel workers coming off shifts around the clock had the place packed three deep years ago, but there were just 10 people on a recent day. With the new plant across the road, the community’s morale “is all positive,” said Maffitt, 59. “Every day we’ve got something to look forward to.” (Associated Press, 11/27/11)
• “Oil and Gas are Boosting U.S. Employment”: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently that the U.S. jobless rate remains a dreadful 9%. But look more closely at the data and you can see which industries are bucking the jobless trend. One is oil and gas production, which now employs some 440,000 workers, an 80% increase, or 200,000 more jobs, since 2003. Oil and gas jobs account for more than one in five of all net new private jobs in that period. … Take production in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale formation, which the state Department of Labor and Industry says created 18,000 new jobs in the first half of 2011. Some 214,000 jobs are now tied to a natural gas industry that barely existed in the Keystone State a decade ago. … The beauty of the oil and gas boom is that multipliers aren’t needed to predict job growth. It’s happening right before our eyes. (Wall Street Journal Editorial, 11/28/11)
• “Even Old-Line Industries Like Steel are Benefitting” from Shale Development: As the New York Times’ David Brooks wrote earlier this month: “Already shale gas has produced more than half a million new jobs, not only in traditional areas like Texas but also in economically wounded places like western Pennsylvania and, soon, Ohio. If current trends continue, there are hundreds of thousands of new jobs to come.” Even old-line industries like steel are benefitting, with the Cleveland Plain-Dealer recently reporting that Republic Steel is investing $85 million to create 450 new jobs at a plant it was shutting down just three years ago. The plant will make steel pipe needed for the Marcellus gas wells. (Washington Examiner Editorial, 11/27/11)

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