It’s mostly business-to-business.  And the two-day Utica & Natural Gas 2012 Expo that begins in Youngstown this week is expected to draw a thousand visitors.

It is the second annual conference.  But unlike last year, which focused mostly on fracking, this conference is drilling down on what are called “mid-stream” energy businesses; like processing plants and pipelines.  And, it is focused on developing those industries here…as a hedge against fears of an economic bust after the drilling boom. Tony Paglia of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce: “Oil and gas drilling takes a finite number of years.  But if you have the mid-stream part, and the supply chain…that’s is really what will drive jobs and investment , and give our area long-term prosperity and growth.”