New Geography
highlighted the five regions that are most poised to flourish in 2012
and help boost the national economy - what was the number one region?
1. The Energy Belt. Demand from developing countries and China
will be beneficial for energy-rich regions, particularly Texas,
Oklahoma, the Dakotas, Montana, Louisiana and Wyoming, according to New
Geography. Goldman Sachs recently predicted that the United States will
become the world’s largest oil producer by 2017.
The article goes on to state that even if Europe falls into
recession, demand from China and other developing countries, as well as
threats from Iran to cut off the Persian Gulf, will keep energy prices
high. While this is bad news for millions of consumers, it could be a
great boon to a host of energy-rich regions, particularly in Texas,
Oklahoma, the Dakotas, Montana, Louisiana and Wyoming. New technologies
that allow for greater production require higher prices than more
conventional methods — roughly $70 a barrel — and most experts expect
prices to stay above $100 for the next year. Goldman Sachs recently
predicted that the U.S. will become the world’s largest oil producer by
2017. The bounty is so great that the key energy-producing states have
consistently out-performed the national average in terms of job and
income growth. Houston, the nation’s energy capital, has enjoyed
the fastest growth in per-capita income in the past decade. No reason to
expect this to slow down much this year.
Energy growth, notes Bill Gilmer, senior economist at the Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas, also sparks “upstream” expansion in a host of
other industries, such as chemicals and plastics. Massive new expansions
to serve the industry are being planned not only in Texas and Louisiana
but in former rust belt states, including now gas-rich Ohio. The big
exception is oil-rich California, which seems determined to keep its
fossil fuels — and the growth they could drive — out of mind and
underground.
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