NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U. S. Steel Tubular Products, Inc., a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X), announced that Harold Korell, executive chairman of the board of directors of Southwestern Energy Company, is the recipient of its Chief Roughneck Award for 2009. The announcement was made today at the 80th annual meeting of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

Douglas R. Matthews, president of U. S. Steel Tubular Products and vice president of tubular operations for U. S. Steel, presented Korell with the traditional Chief Roughneck bronze bust and hard hat. "Harold Korell personifies this award with his exemplary career and leadership in the energy industry," said Matthews. "Throughout his career, Harold's formula for success has had a lasting, positive impact on the companies he has worked for as well as the energy industry as a whole."

Korell joined Southwestern Energy Company in 1997 as executive vice president and chief operating officer. He served as the company's president from 1998 to 2008 and as chief executive officer from 1999 to May 2009. He was elected chairman of the board of directors in 2002 and became executive chairman of the board of directors in May 2009.

With Korell at the helm, Southwestern Energy has accumulated 575,000 acres in the Fayetteville Shale natural gas play in Arkansas and Oklahoma and has since achieved a record level of natural gas production in the Fayetteville Shale of one billion cubic feet per day.

A graduate of the Colorado School of Mines with a professional degree in chemical and petroleum refining engineering, Korell began his career with Mobil Oil Corporation and has held positions with Tenneco Oil Company, McCormick Resources and American Exploration Company.

Korell serves as the vice chairman of the American Exploration and Production Council and is a board member of the National Petroleum Council, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the American Natural Gas Alliance. He is also a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. In addition, he serves on the executive advisory board for the Sam M. Walton School of Business at the University of Arkansas, where he received the Outstanding Service Award in April 2006. He also serves on the board of governors and is a member of the visiting committee for the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, where he received the Distinguished Achievement Medal in May 2004.

The prestigious Chief Roughneck Award was created in 1955 to honor the lifetime achievements of petroleum industry leaders. Today, U. S. Steel Tubular Products proudly continues to present this important award, which is widely recognized as one of the industry's highest honors.

U. S. Steel Tubular Products, Inc., a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation, is the largest tubular products manufacturer in North America, with total annual production capability of 2.8 million net tons. Energy industry customers utilize U. S. Steel Tubular Products' casing, tubing, line pipe and couplings to help them locate, retrieve, transport and refine the oil and natural gas products that fuel the world.

For more information about U. S. Steel and U. S. Steel Tubular Products, visit www.ussteel.com.

For more information about the Independent Petroleum Association of America, visit www.ipaa.org.

SOURCE United States Steel Corporation