Marsh, the world's leading insurance broker and risk advisor, today announced it has established a dedicated unit in Pittsburgh to help energy clients manage exposures related to the exploration, drilling and servicing operations in the Marcellus Shale. The unit is part of Marsh's U.S. Energy Practice, which has 95 full-time energy specialists in several cities throughout the country.

Led by Henry Scully, senior vice president, the Pittsburgh energy unit will draw upon Marsh's brokerage and risk consulting specialists in energy, environmental liability, property and casualty insurance, surety, and financial and professional liability. Mr. Scully has extensive experience working with clients in the oil & gas industry in the U.S. as well as other parts of the world.

Through its Pittsburgh energy unit, Marsh will provide operators and contractors in the Marcellus area with access to its specialist advice, consulting and insurance company placement. The new operation will work with all segments of the Marcellus gas businesses, including operators, non-operators, drilling contractors, other service contractors, oil field equipment manufacturers, seismic contractors and other ancillary businesses.

Mike Barbarita, head of Marsh's Pittsburgh office, said, "The establishment of our dedicated energy unit here responds to the needs of the growing number of clients involved in Marcellus and reflects our commitment to the local business community in Western Pennsylvania. Throughout Marsh, we have the talent and specialist expertise needed to mobilize additional resources to address emerging client needs as momentum builds in this fledgling sector."

Bertil Olsson, leader of Marsh's U.S. Energy Practice based in Houston, said, "We are pleased to focus our resources on helping clients with their work in the Marcellus Shale and look forward to helping clients with solutions to address the unique exposures associated with shale operations, including environmental issues related to potential ground-water contamination."

Additional information is available by contacting Henry Scully in Pittsburgh at (412) 552-5024 or Bertil Olsson in Houston, (713) 276-8711.