WARREN - While Marcellus shale permitting and drilling activity in the Valley may be slow at the moment, natural gas exploration companies have the area squarely in their sights.

According to the state Department of Natural Resources, 37 permits for Marcellus and Utica shale drilling have been issued in the state. All of those permits lie on the eastern edge of the state, from Mahoning County to Washington County.

The majority of those permits are held by two exploration companies: Chesapeake Energy Corp., of Oklahoma City, and Marquette Exploration, of Woodlands, Texas.

Both of those companies expressed a willingness to further develop shale play in the state.

"Chesapeake has high hopes for emerging development in eastern Ohio," Chesapeake spokeswoman Jacque Bland said. "Currently, we are very early in an exploration phase of development and evaluation. We plan to drill wells across a wide area of play, assess the geology and then will determine the extent and location of future operations."

The term "play" is used in the oil and gas industry to refer to a geographic area that has been targeted for exploration.

The Marcellus shale is dense rock deep beneath Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. The formation contains enough natural gas that some experts predict it could have political and economic implications worldwide.

Locally, the shale's location has been credited with urging V&M Star to build a $650 million expansion and Ultra Premium Oilfield Services to open a new factory in Brookfield. Those two projects are expected to add more than 500 local jobs, according to the companies.

ODNR geologist Mike McKormic said the exploration phase currently under way is often considered the second of a three-phase process that leads to natural gas exportation. The first is leasing land to developers, and the third is full-scale drilling.

"Right now it's just core studies, analyzing the shale and determining a possible return," McKormic said.

Bob Blair, of the Tioga County (Pa.) department of development, said it was more than five years after initial exploration wells were drilled until the area saw significant action involving in Marcellus or Utica shale.

Now, Tioga County, located in northeastern Pennsylvania on the New York state border, is one of the most active areas of shale development in that state. He said all area hotels are constantly booked solid with out-of-state workers, and local restaurants and stores are experiencing upticks in activity because of the shale.

"My favorite example is the local shoe store," he said. "They used to carry two styles of work boots, and now they have dozens."

Also, he said all environmental concerns, which are ample, have been properly abated, but the presence of natural gas deep drilling activity has had another negative impact: damage to rural roads.

Trucks carrying millions of gallons of water and hundreds of tons of sand have accelerated the disrepair of roads that were never designed to sustain such loads. The result is local governments strained by the cost of road repairs.

Blair said to beware of comparisons between eastern Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, saying the plate becomes less thick in here than in much of Pennsylvania. Development could therefore be slower and smaller in scale.

Likewise, Bland said further development is strictly speculative at this point.

"Our position may support future horizontal development should the geology and data we receive prove the acreage is prospective for future development," she said. "It is simply too early to speculate about any future development plans until we have more information about the geology over a wide area."

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