Not much has changed in year since The Wall Street Journal compared the gas-fueled economic boom of Pennsylvania with the political dithering of New York ("A Tale of Two Shale States"). Pennsylvania's natural gas industry continues to prosper, adding billions of dollars and thousands of jobs to the state, while New York's remains woefully uncertain.
That's good news for Pennsylvanians like me. We're already seeing more competition for investment dollars from neighboring states like Ohio. The gas industry is looking carefully at which regions of the country offer the most promising acreage. More competition will make an already challenging market even tougher.
Nevertheless, Pennsylvania probably will remain king for some time in the Marcellus Shale region. Despite low prices that are slowing development, Pennsylvania is setting the pace in modernizing development and driving America's energy renaissance.
State leaders have worked hard to streamline regulatory practices in a manner that keeps development, safe, effective and profitable. That's important for the environment and for companies hesitant to make big investments at record low prices. Pennsylvania is an innovator that is proud to have set the bar high for gas development that is both economically and environmentally viable.
In New York, on the other hand, Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced a confusing and unworkable local control model. Instead of a clear statewide plan for development, New York will allow individual communities to make decisions about when and where development will be allowed. This "here today, gone tomorrow" approach is unlikely to result in gas development. It is more likely to chase industry to Pennsylvania or some other state.
That's OK with Pennsylvanians. Each day of inaction in New York means more investment dollars, tax revenue and jobs that otherwise may have been lost to New York's stretch of the Marcellus Shale formation.
Nearly $3.2 trillion will be invested nationally in the development of gas like that drawn from the Marcellus formation between 2010 and 2035, according to a June study by IHS Inc., a global economic analysis and forecasting firm. This investment already is supporting more than 1 million jobs; by 2035, the number of jobs is expected to increase to 2.4 million. Gas drilling revenues to federal, state and local governments are projected to reach $50 billion by 2015 and nearly $1.5 trillion by 2035.
In Pennsylvania alone, IHS reports, gas production jobs will grow from more than 56,000 in 2010 to more than 270,000 in 2035. The Marcellus Shale Coalition says gas producers already have paid Pennsylvania government more than $1 billion in taxes and invested more than $400 million to build and repair roads.
From a national perspective, I'd like to see everybody contributing to our energy needs. However, as long as New York's leaders are willing to cede an important market and an exciting future to Pennsylvania, we will enjoy the rewards.
Gordon Tomb is a Pennsylvania-based energy writer and director of communications for the Pennsylvania Coalition for Responsible Government.