United States Steel Corp. announced that it will build a technologically advanced electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking facility at its Fairfield Works in Birmingham, Ala. The company will also construct a tubular products coupling facility at Fairfield Works to manufacture couplings with premium, semi-premium and American Petroleum Institute (API) connections for customers in the oil and gas industry. The two projects, which are expected to create approximately 650 temporary construction jobs, are valued at $277.5 million.

 Construction of the EAF will begin in the second quarter of 2015 and is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2016. Construction on the coupling facility is also scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2015 with completion expected in the first quarter of 2016. The tubular coupling facility is an integral part of the company’s plan to develop and manufacture oil-country tubular goods (OCTG) products with premium connections. U. S. Steel will continue to operate Fairfield Works’ steelmaking and finishing operations throughout the process.