MAKING HAY: Some words of advice today from Pierre Loncle of
Fairbanks, Alaska:
“Greetings from the High North! I used to live in Allegany,
N.Y., and moved north to Alaska in 1992 to take advantage of a
great job and opportunities for adventure.
“The rising price of oil has a silver lining for those of us
living in the ‘oil patch.’
“The State of Alaska has been struggling the past few years to
balance the budget with royalties from $22/barrel of crude oil.
Higher taxes and reduced services were looming on the horizon; now
those concerns have dissipated for the time being.
“With a small state population of around 600,000 people and the
high cost of building and maintaining infrastructure here, we are
grateful for the shot in the arm that higher oil prices give to our
state budget and overall economy.
“People in Bradford should consider the possible upside to their
economy, too. You are sitting on oil reserves that are in high
demand. The high price for oil may justify local oil producers
investing in technology to recover more oil from previously
abandoned fields.
“That means jobs for people in the industry and increased tax
revenue, both things that the Bradford area could use.
“It’s OK to gripe about the high price of gas at the pump, but
ask how the Bradford economy can benefit from this. You are sitting
on a resource that is very much in need.
“What can the people in Bradford do to get the maximum benefit
from the situation for the most people? Look for the opportunities
in the current oil situation and make hay while you can.”
MAKING HAY: By coincidence, we read an article about the
resurgence of the local oilfield in the current edition of the
Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce newsletter.
Glen Washington, president, estimated that the Bradford area oil
fields are now producing a little more than 7, 500 barrels per
day.
“At $60 a barrel, that means drillers are selling Bradford area
oil at roughly $450,000 per day. Of course, that is not all profit,
but a lot of income is being generated. And a lot of that money is
going directly into our local economy.”
That’s some pretty good “hay”! We hope to return to this topic
soon because, after all, Bradford was once – still is – “the
high-grade oil metropolis of the world.”
