Mr John P Surma chairman & CEO of US Steel and Mr Aubrey McClendon chairman & CEO of Chesapeake Energy sung the praises of natural gas at a natural gas filling station at the steel maker's Irvin plant.

The station, operational since June, serves five vehicles that carry mail, products and workers around the West Mifflin mill as well as to its sister plants, the Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock and the Clairton coke plant. US Steel spent USD 1 million to build the station and convert the vehicles to run on natural gas. It is the second natural gas station at a US Steel plant, joining one that has been operating at the Gary (Ind) Works for more than a year.

Mr Surma said that the steelmaker saves 61 cents for every mile driven using natural gas instead of gasoline or diesel fuel. Natural gas also burns more efficiently, produces fewer emissions and lowers maintenance costs. He added that "We think gas gives us the whole package."

Mr Surma called the Marcellus Shale boom the best thing to happen to US manufacturing in 25 years.

(Sourced from Associated Press)