STEUBENVILLE - Mayor Domenick Mucci Jr. said Monday a major oil and gas industry announcement is in the offing.
Mucci said local leaders "very soon will have some development news" to report involving area properties.
"One of them is a facility right here in town that will be used by the oil and gas industry," he said. "Development like this doesn't happen overnight, but it is coming our way."
Mucci's comments came in response to a question posed by an area resident to U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, who hosted the town hall session on Monday. The resident in question, Steve Vukelic, had asked why Jefferson County seems to be shut out of major oil and gas industry investments, such as the proposed multi-billion dollar ethane cracker being considered in nearby Monaca, Pa., or the multi-million dollar processing facilities in Columbiana and Harrison counties.
Mucci declined to reveal specifics about the soon-to-come oil and gas announcement, saying the company in question is insistent that the announcement be made on its terms.
"But it's coming," he reiterated after the meeting. "There's so much out there. Good things from that industry are coming. It takes collaboration, cooperation and understanding; there's a process you have to go through. It all takes time."
He said other projects also are in the pipeline locally, though once again he declined to offer specifics.
