LIVE: Coverage of today's Chamber event on fracking


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SEE ALSO: Research analysts remain conservative to oil, gas industry

By Karl Henkel

khenkel@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

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A drilling platform will greet visitors today at the Youngstown Ohio Utica and Natural Gas conference and expo at the Covelli Centre on Front Street in downtown Youngstown.

Eric Planey said the Mahoning Valley has already been in the forefront of the Utica and Marcellus shale industry.

“We had a first peek before other areas in Ohio did,” said Planey, vice president of international business attraction for Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.

But today, as the chamber hosts the first-of-its-kind Youngstown Ohio Utica and Natural Gas conference and expo at the Covelli Centre, Planey believes it will be the unofficial start to the shale boom.

“[Today] is the formalization of the industry moving into this area,” he said. “It is establishing the Youngstown-Warren Area as a very significant player in the shale industry.”

Thousands are expected to flood the center for the daylong event.

The event will feature informational speakers such as Jeffrey Dick, geology department chairman at Youngstown State University, and industry professionals such as Joel Mastervich, president and COO of V&M Star.

V&M Star is in the process of completing a $650 million mill to make piping for drilling operations.

That project has been years in the making, but YSU will announce a major initiative regarding Utica shale exploration at today’s expo.

School representatives wouldn’t talk Tuesday about the announcement, but earlier this month, Ikram Khawaja, YSU provost and vice president for academic affairs, told trustees the university would begin an initiative to prepare students for jobs in the industry.

Some reports have said the oil-and-gas industry could create as many as 200,000 direct and indirect jobs, though some economic experts aren’t enthusiastic about that number.

The event won’t be completely positive, however.

A group called Fracking Exposed: A State of Emergency is planning a counter-convention outside Covelli and at Central Square.

The group, made up of about 30 organizations, wants fracking banned in Ohio, or at the least, a moratorium on it.

Fracking, a process in which water, chemicals and sand are blasted into rocks thousands of feet below the ground to unlock natural oil and gas, has been used by drilling companies for decades, but is controversial because of potential associated environmental risks.

“We know that state regulations are not adequate; they don’t even have the staff to regulate it,” said Ron Prosek, a spokesman for the group.

Prosek also said he fears the shale industry conference will not properly present information about environmental concerns.

But Planey said today’s event will hit all aspects of shale, from monetary to legal to environmental.

“We are certainly cognizant of the conversation that needs to take place in relation to the state,” he added.