OU students develop database to match shale drillers with support services

OU students develop database to match shale drillers with support services

Associated Press

ATHENS, Ohio

Ohio University students have developed a database to link shale gas drillers with Ohio companies that can provide supplies and services.

Students from OU used a $100,000 rural business enterprise grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop the project.

The project focused on 12 eastern and southeastern Ohio counties, stretching from Athens County north to Tuscarawas and Jefferson counties — although the database also includes Ohio companies from outside that geographic area that could serve the oil and gas industry.

“Suppliers in this sector are constantly trying to find ways to make connections and prove their capabilities,” Scott Miller, director of energy and environmental programs at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, told The Athens Messenger.

“On the other side, large oil and gas firms are trying to shore up their understanding of their Ohio-based supply networks.”