YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Companies looking for an open door to the oil and natural gas industry now have a tool where they can present their names and services before some of the biggest players in the business.
The Marcellus Shale Coalition this week launched its Marcellus on Main Street initiative, an online business directory that lists small and-medium sized companies that want to become part of the supply network to the energy industry.
“It’s an opportunity for us as a trade association to encourage use of the local supply chain," said Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition. “We’re happy to be rolling out a project that we think will do a lot for all of us.”
During a conference call with reporters, Klaber said that the premise is to gather a broad-based directory of companies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and northern Maryland. “It connects the natural gas industry with Main Street,” she said, “those businesses throughout the supply chain who are part of this exciting time in our country and our region.”
Since 2007, big energy companies such as Range Resources, Chesapeake Energy, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, have descended on sections of Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio to tap into the Marcellus and Utica shale plays.
These rock formations, thousands of feet below, contain vast repositories of dry and wet natural gas. New technologies in horizontal drilling have allowed energy companies to exploit these shale plays much more cost effectively.
The economic impact is evident across the region, Klaber notes. Suppliers, trucking firms, construction companies, manufacturers, processors -- even local hardware stores and restaurants -- have benefited from how much the energy industry has spent, she says.
“The economic impact clearly goes beyond the drilling and pipeline companies,” she says.
The new website, www.marcellusonmainstreet.org, lists businesses related to industry, hospitality, retail, as well as leisure and local attractions. Companies can join in for a fee of $25. Thus far, 500 companies are registered.
Klaber says the coalition worked closely with regional chambers of commerce across Pennsylvania and hosted five events held simultaneously in Philadelphia, Johnstown, Williamsport, Washington, and Cranberry Township.
“It’s a site where the broader community can see the kind of companies that are really being impacted by this development,” she says.
The site wants to attract businesses from the entire region, Klaber adds, not just Pennsylvania. “We've designed the site to welcome businesses from Ohio, New York, West Virginia and Maryland as well.”
In Youngstown, for example, Klaber notes that spinoff is already visible with projects such as V&M Star’s new $650 million tube plant that manufactures casings for the energy industry. “As that operation grows, it will be great to see the additional companies that service that plant,” she remarked.
And, when companies such as V&M grow, it helps the entire community. “We all know that every one of these new businesses – Main Street businesses – all track back to what's going on here [in the natural gas industry],” she says.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.