U.S. Steel will not drill gas wells at Edgar Thomson Plant

An agreement between U.S. Steel Corp. and New Mexico-based Merrion Oil & Gas to drill Marcellus Shale gas wells near U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works was terminated Friday.

“U.S. Steel has decided to exit a lease agreement that would have allowed a natural gas well on the property of our Edgar Thomson Plant,” said U.S. Steel spokeswoman Amanda Malkowski. “U.S. Steel values input from our neighbors and the communities where we live and work, as well as the open dialogue needed to balance our responsibilities to our shareholders, our neighbors, and to environmentally sustainable steelmaking.”

The two companies teamed up in 2017 with plans to drill wells on the Mon Valley site. U.S. Steel was to receive royalties in gas instead of typical cash payments.

Though local officials had approved the plan at the time — including John Fetterman, then-mayor of Braddock — community groups criticized the project, saying it would expose nearby residents to industrial hazards and pollutants. Fetterman is now lieutenant governor.

Then in December, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said it would end its review of the project altogether, saying Merrion had lost its local zoning permit in October.

Malkowski on Friday said U.S. Steel reacquired its oil and gas rights on the property, thereby ending plans to install a natural gas well. She said the company is not able to discuss terms of the lease agreement.