http://www.pittsburghtoday.org/view_...wth_view1.html
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Excellent and unsurprising news. Well maybe a little surprising in that The 'Burgh was that far ahead of the number two city.
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All that is also why I wouldn't get too pessimistic on the vision thing. We haven't been a boom town for a long time, and the national finance markets are still barely thawing (note PNC is basically paying for the Tower out of cash it has lying around idle). With a little patience, though, things could pick up and eventually more attention-grabbing projects could get financed.
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1/26/2012
Lot 24, getting swampy. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6...01e8a6b5_b.jpg Not dev, just US Steel Tower through the rain and fog. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6...61172759_b.jpg |
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Hopefully, the "discovery" that there isn't nearly as much natural gas (141tcf vs 410tcf according to the EIA and USGS) in the Marcellus shale formation than was previously trumpeted doesn't negatively affect the employment numbers above too much... considering the most significant increases (nat resources/mining/construction and wholesale trade) are directly attributable to the Marcellus boom. And considering planned production at companies like local firm Consol will decrease in 2012 and 2013...
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At a guess, any slowdown in drilling activity will be more than offset by increases in downstream activity (e.g., chemical plants). In my view the total size of the recoverable gas pool (which is a constantly evolving number) is more about how long this activity will last, as opposed to the pace of short-term activity.
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And yes, it is certainly about how long the activity will last, but the employment number increases are short-term (Dec 2010 - Dec 2011) figures... and that's generally what I was referring to -- since activity is already set to decrease over the next 2 years. As far as increases in downstream chemical plant activity... do you mean in the Pittsburgh region? |
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12027/1206355-503-0.stm Quote:
I wouldn't freak out too much about this. An unseasonably warm winter shouldn't have long-term impacts on the industry here. But more importantly... Pittsburgh's "economic miracle" was underway before Marcellus activity ramped up in the region... and it's a diversified economic growth that cuts across most sectors. Of the 27k jobs Pittsburgh added over the year... 3k were in "natural resources, mining". The biggest contributor to regional economic growth is still... http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?c...C8D&chbh=a,5,5 That's an increase of over 10k jobs from 2010 to 2011 and now at 250k... represents almost 5 times as many employees as the "natural resources, mining" sector Pittsburgh also had the top growth rate among "benchmark regions" in.. Financial Services http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?c...C8D&chbh=a,5,5 Trade, Transportation and Utilities http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?c...C8D&chbh=a,5,5 |
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A few comments: 1) The numbers for the Marcellus Shale reserves have gone up and down like a yo-yo for the last few years. The latest numbers released are actually VERY close to the estimates the U.S. Geological Survey put out early to mid last year. 2) Drilling activity in the dry gas zones (predominately central/North Central PA) is definitely decreasing until natural gas prices start to rise at least a little over the $2.70 or so they are right now. However, here in SW PA, there's quite a bit of liquids as well as the gas (think oil), so this area will not see a decrease. If anything, there will be an increase in this region as the rigs move westward. 3) Remember, this estimate was only for the Marcellus. There's an even larger formation called the Utica Shale which seems to have much more oil associated with it, and the heart of the Utica is pretty much from Pittsburgh to Erie to pretty much Cleveland to Columbus... Also goes south of here into north-central West Virginia. Aaron (Glowrock) |
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I'm very glad to see Pittsburgh continuing to expand in healthcare/education (presumably employment increases at UPMC and Highmark have much to do with it as they've increased their sizes over 5x in the past decade), though it does concern me that they hold nonprofit status... and that the city does not get more bang for its buck out of them. |
Yep, the "wet" gas Marcellus/Utica overlap region, of which we are a part, pretty much has the lowest overall break-even price, so will be the last man standing and may even somewhat benefit from lower market prices.
But ultimately, low prices should help increase demand--power plant conversions, vehicle conversions, home conversions, industrial conversions, and so on. So that's the next turn of the wheel I am watching (investment in such conversions), and if gas prices continue to stay so low in relation to oil prices, we should see that ramping up. |
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_778737.html
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Read more: Developers sign lease with Nakama that could jump-start Federal/North project - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt...#ixzz1khzJaVVj |
:previous:The design of that building looks very similar to the Nakima restaurant in Southside. Should be a good use for the building. Are the upper floors going to be apartments or office space?
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I'm really excited about Nakama signing a lease on the North Side. That project wouldn't have been able to get off the ground without a good tenant. Hopefully they keep some of the architectural integrity.
I don't know that the lower estimates on the Marcellus gas is going to have that big of an impact. Obviously a couple of the large drillers are going to slow down a bit, but we are still close to the beginning of this process. I work with a lot of Marcellus related companies and they are expanding like crazy - its pretty constant. A lot of companies are just starting to look at the region. If the cracker plant lands in Aliquippa (and I am guessing it will) then you could see a huge influx of jobs in Beaver County. |
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Also, there was an article about AVR asking the Port Authority for advice on how to develop the rail line from Steel Plaza out to Arnold. From the looks of things, it looks like financing for this project is already in place. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_778873.html |
Any driving by the Civic Arena today might notice that the scenery is a little bit different.
If I had known they were going to start dropping the roof today I would have gone down to watch. :( Video of the drop from the Official Pens site: http://video.penguins.nhl.com/videoc...b_iphone%3Ac.m |
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