Economic Impact

Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Purdue Researchers: Shale Energy Adds $478B Per Year to US Economy
October 14, 2013October 14, 2013

Researchers at Purdue University recently presented the results from two studies analyzing the economics of shale energy and its impact on the U.S. economy (summary embedded below). They discussed their findings at the annual North American joint conference of the United States and International Associations for Energy Economics in Anchorage, Alaska (in July). What did the Purdue researchers find?

Purdue researchers found that shale oil and gas will increase the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States by an average of 3.5% per year through 2035. In raw numbers, that means each and every year shale is adding $478 billion to our economy–a number so large it’s breathtaking. It seems to MDN that shale energy is single-handedly keeping our country out of yet another recession…
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Beaver County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Dow Disingenously Tells Shell to Forget About a PA Cracker Plant
October 8, 2013October 8, 2013

Manufacturing and labor leaders held a confab yesterday in Pittsburgh to discuss jobs, the economy, and how the Marcellus is lifting both in southwestern Pennsylvania (see our companion story today). One of the speakers at yesterday’s meeting was Peter Molinaro, vice president and senior advisor on government affairs for The Dow Chemical Co. One of Dow Chemical’s chief rivals and competitors is Shell Chemical. Shell, as MDN readers are well aware, is currently conducting a multi-year evaluation of whether or not to build a regional ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA, outside Pittsburgh about 30 miles.

It probably won’t surprise you that Dow’s Molinaro said at yesterday’s meeting that PA probably doesn’t need a cracker plant after all. Are Molinaro’s comments about a PA cracker wise and measured counsel from an industry participant who has a feel for the economics of U.S. manufacturing and what it truly needs? Or are his comments trash-talking a competitor in hopes of scuttling a deal and eliminating competition so more ethane will be pipelined to the Gulf–where Dow’s cracker plants are located? You decide…
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Allegheny County | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Washington County | Westmoreland County

Pittsburgh Summit: Marcellus the WD-40 of SW PA Rustbelt Economy
October 8, 2013October 8, 2013

Yesterday a group of manufacturing and labor leaders gathered at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers headquarters on Pittsburgh’s South Side to talk about the creation of more manufacturing jobs in the greater Pittsburgh area–specifically about how Marcellus Shale is changing the landscape and is a tremendous jobs creator in the region. Several publications attended and each put their own angle on what was said at the meeting.

MDN picks through the stories to bring you the bits and pieces we found interesting–news about how the Marcellus is changing the picture in southwest PA and beyond. One of those interesting tidbits: the chairman of the PA Public Utility Commission said Marcellus Shale gas has been responsible for power prices dropping an average 52% across the state–for everyone. Incredible! And a comparison between the Marcellus and WD-40…
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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

U.S. Passes Saudis (Oil) & Russia (NatGas) to Become #1 Worldwide
October 7, 2013

None other than the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report on Friday that says the United States will pass Saudi Arabia to become the #1 oil producing country in the world, and will pass Russia to be the #1 natural gas producing country in the world–THIS YEAR. How? Why? Shale energy, of course. No wonder the Saudi’s are worried (see Top Saudi investor says US energy boom could doom kingdom’s economy) and even the braggadocio Vladimir Putin is showing signs of concern (see Worried by shale gas, Putin calls for new energy strategy).

This is really big news folks…
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Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Gov Going to Europe to Find Him a Cracker
October 2, 2013October 2, 2013

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is nothing if not persistent. For several years, the governor and his trusty Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette have been talking about landing an ethane cracker plant for WV (see WV Gov. Tomblin Beats the Ethane Cracker Drum Once Again). MDN is pulling for them! We have been for a long time. And it seems every few months we see a story along the lines of, “Just hold on, it’s a comin'”. But it never seems to.

So if a cracker investment is not coming to WV, Gov. Tomblin is going out to find it! He’s heading off to Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy on a European ~~vacation~~ trade mission in October to thank those countries for investing in WV, and to invite them to invest more. In particular, he’d like someone to invest in a cracker plant…
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Crude Oil | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | NGLs | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

U.S. Chamber’s Chris Guith Talks About Ohio Utica Shale
September 30, 2013September 30, 2013

Chris Guith is vice president for policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy. He’s also very familiar with the development of Ohio’s Utica Shale play. In a recent interview, Guith had some interesting comments on Ohio’s prospects for oil, NGL pipelines, industry jobs, regulations and more…
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Allegheny County | Chevron | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania

Chevron Wins 1st Approval for New Regional HQ Near Pittsburgh
September 20, 2013September 20, 2013

In May MDN told you about Chevron’s purchase of a 61-acre site in the suburbs of Pittsburgh where they plan to build a huge, 350,000 square foot office complex that will be home to 1,750 people when it’s done (see Chevron to Build New (Big) Regional HQ in Pittsburgh Suburb). It is an important sign that Chevron is committed–in a big way–to the Marcellus and Utica Shale.

On Wednesday the Chevron project moved one step closer to reality when Moon Township officials gave it their thumbs up…
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Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | UGI Energy Services

UGI to Invest $1.2B to Upgrade Pipelines in PA to Deliver NatGas
September 20, 2013September 20, 2013

UGI is Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas distributing utility serving more than 586,000 natural gas customers in 45 counties. Along with that many customers comes a lot of underground pipelines–some of which need to be replaced. So UGI is on a quest to hire at least 100 new full-time workers to help replace them. They plan to spend $1.2 billion on the project to upgrade their infrastructure in PA.

So what does UGI’s new pipeline replacement project have to do with the Marcellus Shale?…
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Commodity Price | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues

Potential New Market for Marcellus/Utica Gas: LNG for Use in U.S.
September 19, 2013

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) isn’t just for exporting to other countries. LNG is increasingly used right here at home, in the U.S. GDF SUEZ Gas has provided LNG to the northeastern U.S. for the past 40 years for use in ships, railroad locomotives, long-haul trucks, and heating/power generation. Earlier this week GDF SUEZ announced a sort of “open season” for bids on a massive increase in their capacity to provide more LNG in the northeast. They call it the advanceLNG Project.

The potential good news for producers of Marcellus and Utica Shale gas is that if the advanceLNG Project moves forward, it will need lots of natural gas from the region to feed it. advanceLNG is a potentially lucrative new market for the northeast’s abundant supplies of natgas…
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Carroll County | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Roads | Utica Shale

Carroll County, OH Transformed by Utica Shale Drilling
September 18, 2013September 18, 2013

What’s it like when drilling comes to town? Who better to tell us than someone from “the epicenter” of drilling in eastern Ohio? Amy Rutledge is director of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce. She spoke this week at an energy summit in Columbus sponsored by America’s Natural Gas Alliance.

Startling fact #1: According to Rutledge, Carroll County has fewer than 30,000 people living it–but when drilling came to town, 200 property owners in Carroll became instant millionaires from the bonus checks they received. Startling fact #2: Drillers have (so far) paid over $40 million to rebuild Carroll County’s roadways–that’s 80 years worth of road work completed in two years for a county with an annual budget of just $500,000 allocated for roads…
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Clearfield County | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania

PA DCED Roadshow Visits Supply Chain Company in Clearfield County
September 18, 2013September 18, 2013

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Community & Economic Development (DCED) is hitting the road this week for its third installment of “DCED on the road.” This time they’re heading to Clearfield County, PA in northcentral PA to talk with Forum Energy Technologies, a manufacturer and supplier (i.e. supply chain company) for the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry.

While visiting Forum Energy to highlight their tremendous success due to the Marcellus, DCED reps will also visit others in the area on a listening tour–to find out what obstacles still exist for business and communities…
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Crude Oil | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

IHS Study: Worldwide Shale Oil Deposits are Huge
September 18, 2013September 18, 2013

Global research company IHS released a new study yesterday about the huge supply of oil (yes, oil) that now exists worldwide because of shale. Oil retrieved from shale deposits is referred to as “tight oil” and according to IHS, the world apart from North America has nearly 300 billion (with a “b”) barrels of tight oil available–if they have the will to get it. In order to get it, they’ll have to frack for it. For perspective, the U.S., the biggest oil consumer in the world, consumed 6.7 billion barrels of oil for all of 2012 (according to EIA statistics).

The new IHS study is titled Going Global: Predicting the Next Tight Oil Revolution. Unfortunately we could not get our hands on a copy to review. However, we were able to find a chart reportedly from the study which shows how big the deposits of tight oil are by region (see our Pinterest images on the right side of any MDN web page). The surprise for us: The biggest potential non-U.S. source of tight oil is Africa…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | West Virginia | Wood County

Marcellus Drilling Comes to Wood County, WV
September 16, 2013September 16, 2013

According to Cam Huffman, president and CEO of the local economic development agency Area Roundtable in Parkersburg, WV, Wood County is now starting to see Marcellus drilling activity. Between potential drilling in Wood and other activities, like a regional ethane cracker plant, Huffman says Wood County is seeing an economic resurgence because of the shale drilling industry…
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Economic Impact | Erie County (NY) | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | New York | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Supply Chain

A New Marcellus Pipe Manufacturing Plant Comes to…New York???
September 13, 2013September 13, 2013

Maddening? Yes. Startling? True. Teeth-gritting? You bet. Ironic and mystifying? Supremely so.

A Middle Eastern company has just announced they will invest $102 million to build a factory in South Buffalo, NY that will employ 170 people making steel pipes for the…wait for it…shale drilling industry. And who should plant his mug right in the middle of this announcement to take credit for the investment and jobs it will bring to the state? Gov. Andy Cuomo–the man who can’t decide whether or not he’ll approve fracking in New York. You can see why we’re having such a conflicted and mixed(-up) reaction…
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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Research

IHS Research: Every US Household Saves Avg $1,200/Year from Shale
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

In October 2011, global research company IHS released the first (of three) volumes in a new study titled America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the US Economy (see Shale Drilling will Create 3.5M Jobs, $5.1T in Investment). In December 2012, they released the second volume (see New Report: Fracking Creates Jobs in States with No Drilling). Today, September 4, 2013, IHS releases the third and final volume, which deals with the manufacturing renaissance currently under way because of shale gas and oil (see it below).

The surprise finding in this latest research study: Because shale oil and gas have lowered the cost of energy by so much in America, lower costs are passed along to consumers not only in lower utility bills, but also in lower costs for manufactured goods because the cost of manufacturing has decreased (from lower energy bills). All told, the average household in America saved $1,200 per year in 2012–a number that will grow to $2,000 per year by 2015 and $3,500 by 2025. Bottom line: Every single citizen in this country is benefiting–right now–from the shale revolution. This is not “just a few farmers and drillers get rich” phenomenon. We all realize a significant monetary benefit from shale…
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Alternative Energy | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues

How Fairhaven, MA Residents Got Fleeced by Wind Power
September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

A Fairhaven, MA resident writes that Marcellus and Utica Shale have made natural gas so cheap that a wind energy project funded by Fairhaven town taxpayers has not, nor ever will, produce revenue anywhere near what was promised by the project’s developers–developers, we might add, that continue to get a guaranteed 2.3% increase in revenue each year even though the town is not getting the minimum profits they were told they would get.

Now the residents of Fairhaven are left holding the bag of diminishing revenue and escalating costs–and the Fairhaven residents who are unfortunate enough to live near the project have to endure the never-ending wumpf, wumpf, wumpf noise that comes from the turbines…
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