New York Continues to Miss the Fracking Boat

Mark Perry brings you up to date on economic development related to shale gas exploration in Pennsylvania.  Lots of good news there.  Of course, New York state is missing out on economic gains, and, frankly, they may have already missed the boat. 

While wells may still be drilled in New York someday, the economics of energy development retains a 'land rush' quality in that the ancillary services and indirect jobs that the industry supports get established early in the locales that encourage drilling first.  I've talked about it before.  The field offices, storage depots, processing facilities, disposal sites, equipment repair sites, and all the other things that go into supporting an actual drilled well are pretty much established now in western and northern Pennsylvania.  Should wells get drilled in New York, people and equipment will likely drive across the border from Pennsylvania, perform their work, and drive back across the border to Pennsylvania.  So, land money, royalties and some taxes will  flow to New Yorkers in the eventuality, but most of the ancillary development benefits have likely already been captured by Pennsylvania.