Steel

A Pittsburgh-based holding company plans to convert a shuttered cold rolling steel mill in Yorkville, OH, into an industrial services terminal to support oil and gas companies in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Canadian government officials have started investigations of the imports of oil/gas industry pipe from up to nine nations, echoing efforts by the U.S. Commerce Department to thwart “dumping” of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) for pipe priced below cost to get a foothold on robust North American markets (see Daily GPI, July 15).

Responding to petitions from several U.S.-based steelmakers, the Commerce Department on Friday imposed a stiff tariff on tubular steel (pipe) imported from South Korea and eight other nations. Steel companies and the U.S. steelworkers union lauded the Obama administration’s action.

Ground was broken Monday for a $975 million steel steel tube manufacturing project at The Port of Caddo-Bossier in Shreveport, LA, which is in Haynesville Shale Country. Some of the plant’s output will serve the U.S. oil and gas industry in southern and Midwestern states.

Nearly 100 shale gas-driven chemical industry projects in the United States — worth about $71.7 billion — will generate $20 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue by 2020, according to an analysis released Monday by the American Chemistry Council.

Maine Natural Gas (MNG) has signed a contract with three companies to begin construction of the 12-inch diameter steel pipeline backbone of its natural gas distribution system in Augusta, ME, the Iberdrola USA subsidiary said.

The United States should be exporting more chemicals, glass, steel, aluminum and other products, but the country’s leaders should think long and hard before adding liquefied domestic natural gas to that list, a Dow Chemical executive said Wednesday. While end-user industries fear higher gas prices, producers are looking to all potential demand sources to lift gas prices and make their dry gas operations economic once again.

French manufacturer Vallourec SA said progress is continuing on a $650 million steel mill it is building in Youngstown, OH to produce seamless pipes for use in hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The seamless hot rolling pipe mill of subsidiary V&M Star plans to create about 350 direct jobs and have initial production of 350,000 tons/year, but it can be expanded to 500,000 tons/year. Production is expected to ramp up in the next few months. According to Vallourec, the new mill would produce 2 3/8-inch to 7-inch diameter pipe for use in fracking operations. The company said it wants to support customers in shale plays across the continent; it has field offices in the Marcellus, Utica, Haynesville and Barnett shales and in the Piceance Basin.

Union Pacific Railroad’s Pipeline Express — which serves the steel pipeline industry by delivering product for oil and gas producers — has delivered its 25,000th rail car of pipeline product, the railroad said Thursday.